Exclusive: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Believes In The Power Of Black Stories

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 18: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins attends the “Appropriate” Broadway opening night afterparty at Hayes Theater on December 18, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/FilmMagic)

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a modern-day griot who curates Black stories. A native of Washington D.C., and based in Brooklyn, the acclaimed playwright’s work examines the intersection of identity, family, class, and race.

In his remarkable career, Jacob-Jenkins has written seven plays including Appropriate, his Broadway debut which earned him his first Tony Award. His other accolades include being named a MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, winning an Obie award, and he’s a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

His latest play is the highly-anticipated PURPOSE which is set to premiere on Broadway at the Hayes Theater

Directed by two-time Tony winner Phylicia Rashad, PURPOSE revolves around the Jasper family, a prominent, politically connected Black family living in Chicago. Due to auspicious circumstances, they are reunited at the same house. While together, long-held family secrets come to light as they attempt to define their value to each other and their identity within Black culture and politics. When Nazareth, the youngest son of the family, returns home accompanied by an uninvited friend, “the family is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black political power and familial duty.”

The renowned cast includes LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Kara Young, Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis, Jon Michael Hill, and Harry Lennix.

In an exclusive interview, Jacob-Jenkins shared what drives his creativity as a playwright and the power of Black stories in theater.

“My inspiration is my life and my experience of my life. I was someone who came up in the theater, and I really take that Tony Morrison dictum to heart that we have to make the things we want to see,” Jacob-Jenkins told HOT97.  “So I feel like every time I’m making a play, I’m asking myself, “What do I  want to see that I’m not seeing out there?”

He also revealed how began to write PURPOSE 10 years ago and how he wanted to bring his vision of a Black political dynasty to the stage. 

“When it comes to PURPOSE, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago approached me about writing a play for them about 10 years ago,” he recalled. “They had three actors at the time, Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis, and Jon Michael Hill. And I was like, ‘I want to write a play for these people and I want to put them in this family.’ And that’s how it started. I’ve always been curious about setting a play with a Black political family and that was the inspiration.”

While merely a coincidence, the timing of the play’s premiere, in concert with the current political climate was not lost on Jacob-Jenkins.

“The timing of the play is crazy right? But to be honest, this Broadway run was sort of in the works even before we knew what this moment would be,” Jacob-Jenkins explained. “We mirrored last spring, so there wasn’t much intentionality to the timing. It’s just when the play was ready. I sometimes feel that the timing is somehow outside your hands.”

All art is a reflection of the diversity of the human experience and PURPOSE conveys the beauty and complexity of Black life. Jacob-Jenkins hopes that those who see the play will leave with a brand new perspective on life and family.

“I just want people to take away a new idea, a new feeling. I want people to think about themselves as members of families, as people of history, and as the beneficiaries of the profound actions of those who came before them. Also, I want people to really ponder in their own lives the themes that the play might bring up,” he said. You know, my favorite thing to hear is when people say the play is kind of sticking with them. You’re still thinking about it long after you saw it.  So that’s all I want to give people. I want to give them something to think about.”

PURPOSE at the Hayes Theater on February 25 and opens to the public on March 17.


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