The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of Purpose, written by Tony Award-winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, The Comeuppance), and directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (Skeleton Crew, A Raisin in the Sun), is heading to Broadway in spring 2025. The production marks Rashad’s Broadway directing debut.
Previews will begin on February 25, 2025 at The Helen Hayes Theater and the show will officially open in mid-March.
Casting will be announced in the coming months.
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 to Illinois with an uninvited friend in tow, the family is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black radicalism.”
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Purpose was commissioned by and had its World Premiere on March 14, 2024 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The production sold out its initial engagement and extension weeks, becoming one of the highest-grossing shows in Steppenwolf’s nearly 50-year history.
Purpose is produced by David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad Chambers, Aaron Glick, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Scenic design is by Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. Casting is by JC Clementz, CSA and Calleri Jensen Davis.