The Company(Photo: Marc J. Franklin)

Purpose

By Deirdre Donovan

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Purpose explores the struggles of a prominent African-American family navigating the intersection of personal ambition and their historical responsibilities. Directed by Phylicia Rashad, Jacobs-Jenkins masterfully interweaves family, politics, and contemporary national issues into a compelling narrative.

Set in Illinois, Purpose revolves around the fictional Jasper family, and its rich history in politics and culture. The plot unfolds during a family dinner that exposes deep-seated tensions and long-hidden secrets.

The play explores themes of legacy, the struggle for individual identity within a family rooted in activism, and the challenges of trying to assimilate into a society that all-too-often fails to recognize their value. The drama truly heats up when the youngest son, Nazareth, returns home with an uninvited friend, and the family is forced to reassess its values, its faith and the legacies of Black political power and familial duty.

The play has several strengths. First and foremost, Jacobs-Jenkins has created credible characters who are richly developed, each representing different perspectives and struggles within the African American experience.

There's the paterfamilias,  Solomon "Sonny" Jasper (Harry Lennix), a reverend and "unsung orator" who has marched alongside luminaries during the American Civil Rights Movement and who, like the biblical King Solomon, is forever trying to walk in the ways of the Lord. Sonny's smart lawyer wife Claudine (Latanya Richardson Jackson), who, rather than practicing law, served as a hostess during her husband's political activist days.

Then we have the younger generation: Solomon "Junior" Jasper (Glenn Davis), a former state senator who has just finished serving time in prison for white-collar crimes, and is now grappling with the weight of familial expectations and his need to rebuild his life. Junior's wife Morgan Jasper (Alana Arenas), the mother of their twin boys, is about to serve time in prison for tax evasion, a sentence delayed by the judge out of compassion and the understanding that one parent needed to take care of their autistic child. Nazareth "Naz" Jasper (Jon Michael Hill) does double duty as narrator and youngest son, a "loner" who has found his niche as a professional nature photographer. And Aziza Houston (Kara Young), a social worker and Nazareth's queer friend who has asked him to be her sperm donor.

Kara Young (Photo: Marc J. Franklin)

Purpose would sag under its own dramatic weight if it weren't for its sharp and natural-sounding dialogue. Jacobs-Jenkins is, of course, known for his wit and incisive turns of phrase. The conversations among characters are engaging and often laced with humor, making serious topics more accessible without losing their content.

Beyond its complex characterization and snappy dialogue, Purpose addresses white-hot issues linked to race, identity, and social justice, making it timely and relatable. It also speaks to both the past and modern-day challenges faced by marginalized communities. Or as Aziza puts it, explaining her own involvement in the Black Lives Matter Movement: "You start somehow seeing inside words or between the words and, with all this chanting about black lives mattering, I was suddenly in some trance or something - walking around with all these new thoughts about life and life mattering and what made it matter."

It's hardly news that Jacobs-Jenkins often experiments with dramatic form and structure. Still, Purpose offers unique narrative techniques that enhance its storytelling, keeping the audience engaged and challenged. In fact, the role of narrator is so expanded in this play that one might wonder if Brandon-Jenkins is employing it as a crutch to compensate for structural weaknesses in his drama. The answer is a resounding no.

Although Hill clearly toggles back-and-forth between playing Narrator and the youngest son, there's no disjointedness in the transitioning. Jacobs-Jenkins has so masterfully crafted his script so that the Narrator dovetails seamlessly with the character Nazareth.

Jon Michael Hill (Photo: Marc J. Franklin)

The acting is first-rate, with a few standout performances. Hill, as the Narrator/Nazareth bravely goes the distance in this almost three-hour play without ever flagging. Latanya Richardson Jackson, playing Claudine, serves as a powerhouse "First Lady" to the Jasper family. And Kara Young, as Nazareth's fiercely independent queer friend, exudes gutsiness and intelligence.

Todd Rosenthal's set, lit by Amith Chandrashaker, is well designed with its Gothic-looking woodwork, tasteful furniture, piano, walls lined with family portraits through the ages, and a shrine-like portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. A shout out to Dede Ayite for her suitable costumes for each character, right down to the beekeeping suit for paterfamilias Solomon.

Purpose cements Jacobs-Jenkins reputation as one of the vibrant new voices in American theater. We should lend him our ears.

Purpose

At the Helen Hayes Theater

240 W. 44^th. St

For more information, visit https://purposeonbroadway.com.

Running time: 2 hours; 50 minutes

Through July 6^th