LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Kara Young are among the complete cast announced today for the Broadway transfer of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play Purpose, directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad.
In addition to Richardson (A Raisin in the Sun) and Purlie Victorious Tony-winner Young, the cast will include Harry Lennix (TV’s The Blacklist), Jon Michael Hill (Broadway’s Pass Over), Glenn Davis (Off Broadway’s Downstate), and Alana Arenas (The Bluest Eye).
Arenas, Davis, Hill, and Lennix all appeared in the play’s acclaimed world premiere at Steppenwolf in Chicago in March 2024.
Purpose will play a limited 19-week run at the Helen Hayes Theater with previews beginning February 25, followed by an official opening on March 17. The engagement runs through July 6, 2025.
The official synopsis: “For decades, the influential Jasper family has been a pillar of Black American Politics: civil rights leaders, pastors and congressmen. But like all families, there are cracks and secrets just under the surface. When the youngest son Nazareth returns home with an uninvited friend in tow, the family is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black political power and familial duty. Spirited, hilarious and filled with intrigue, Purpose is an epic family drama from one of the country’s most celebrated voices.”
Purpose is produced by David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad Chambers, Aaron Glick, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
English (US) ·