Phylicia Rashad to direct new play ‘Purpose’ on Broadway this spring

The show, which premiered in Chicago earlier this year, is by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a 2024 Tony Award winner for his first Broadway play, Appropriate.

The New York-premiere play Purpose will come to Broadway this spring, beginning performances at the Hayes Theater on February 25. Opening night will be in mid-March at a date to be announced.

Purpose centers on the fictional Jaspers, a Black family whose members have a decades-long history in the civil rights and other Black activist movements. When the youngest son, Nazareth, brings an uninvited friend home, the family confronts its secrets, faith, and the effects of its storied legacy on each generation.

The show is by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a 2024 Tony Award winner for his Broadway-debut family drama, Appropriate. “Purpose in some ways was born of me thinking about Appropriate,” Jacobs-Jenkins told New York Theatre Guide in an interview earlier this year.

“I wanted to see what it felt like to write a family drama now that I have a kid and my parents are older,” he said. “I've given myself different circumstances, and there’s certain small Easter eggs that connect it to Appropriate.”

Purpose had its world premiere with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in March 2024 under the direction of Tony winner and Emmy nominee Phylicia Rashad (Skeleton Crew, The Cosby Show), who will now make her Broadway directing debut with the production.

Casting for the Broadway production has yet to be announced. The Chicago production featured Alana Arenas as Morgan Jasper, Glenn Davis as Solomon “Junior” Jasper Jr., Jon Michael Hill as Nazareth “Naz” Jasper, Ayanna Bria Bakari as Aziza Houston, Tamara Tunie as Claudine Jasper, and Harry Lennix and Cedric Young as Solomon “Sonny” Jasper.

Purpose will feature scenic design by Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen.

Check back for information on Purpose tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Phylicia Rashad and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. (Photos courtesy of production)