Tony winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins spoke about his new Broadway play “Purpose.”
As a college professor, Jacobs-Jenkins has taught at Yale University, New York University, Juilliard, Hunter College, and the University of Texas-Austin. Last year, his play “Appropriate” won the Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Play.”
“Purpose” also won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Synopsis of ‘Purpose’
The synopsis is: 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.
2025 Drama Desk wins for ‘Purpose’
Jacobs-Jenkins just won the 2025 Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Play,” which triumphed over such shows as “Blood and the Lamb,” “Deep Blue Sound,” “Grangeville,” “John Proctor is the Villain,” and “Liberation.”
On winning the Drama Desk Award for “Purpose,” he remarked, “It is wild. I am very overwhelmed, and a little shocked. I am very grateful; it is an amazing and charmed experience with a great ensemble cast. I am very lucky.”
In addition, Tony winner Kara Young won the Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play” for her acting work in “Purpose.” Young won alongside Amalia Yoo from “John Proctor is the Villain.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “Crazy Town.”
Advice for young and emerging artists and performers
For young and aspiring artists, performers and storytellers, he stated,”See and read everything you can, and find your tribe.”
“Invest in the people around you because you don’t know who is going to be there and who won’t. Also, stay positive,” he added.
Success
Regarding his definition of the word success, the award-winning playwright concluded, “Success means being able to do what I love, and the peace of mind that comes with. I am very lucky!”
