Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is one of the most intriguing voices in theater today. He brings you Purpose, an ode to Black political power and a legacy told through the Jasper family. Nazareth, their youngest son, returns home one day with an unexpected guest. When long-buried secrets rise to the surface, the family is forced into a powerful reckoning. Sharp-witted and utterly bold, Purpose is generating a lot of positive buzz - but what are the critics saying?

Critic Reviews Of Purpose

"You may have trouble catching your breath from laughing so hard during the first act of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's sophomore Broadway outing, "Purpose," which opened Monday at the Helen Hayes Theater. Deeply imagined and grave beneath its yucks, it unspools like a brilliant sitcom." - The New York Times

"Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' latest is a feast of the good stuff - crackling dialogue, powerhouse ensemble acting and weighty themes delivered with biting naturalism." - Broadway News

"It's a fascinating treatise on respectability, conservatism, preservation and legacy which, in Jacobs-Jenkins fashion, is also an enthralling drama which draws the most biting comedic blood from its human tragedy." - Theatreley

"Purpose has arrived as Americans contemplate the dissolution of all things that once seemed permanent. Timely though it may be, it also seems destined to take its place among the greatest American dramas of all time." - Theatremania

"A breathtaking production that beautifully blends drama and comedy, it is a searing tale that unveils the disconnect between how people see themselves and who they truly are." - Variety

"There are other reasons to see "Purpose" beyond its awards potential. For those of us too young to have seen Laurette Taylor in "The Glass Menagerie," there is now the opportunity to see LaTanya Richardson Jackson in "Purpose." - The Wrap

"But above all, of course, the show works because of Jacobs-Jenkins's writing, which is probing without losing its humor and bracingly honest without being cruel." - TimeOut

"Purpose buzzes with rich ideas about sons and fathers and the burdens of legacy, sexuality, and authenticity. Solomon Sr.'s passion for beekeeping cleverly drives home the point of the play's title. Purpose dazzles and stings." - New York Theatre Guide

"In the end, "Purpose" is a major new American play about what it's like to be trapped by powerful parents whose public personas their children can easily see through, even as they are condemned to try and live up to their import. A thumping blend of tragic-proximate horror and schadenfreude, it's riveting to watch." - New York Daily News

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