Steppenwolf Theatre's PURPOSE Extends Through Mid May

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will present two additional weeks of performances for its world premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ epic family drama Purpose, now extended through Sunday, May 12, 2024 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater. Single tickets for all performances, including this second and final extension, are now on sale online and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, Purpose features ensemble members Alana Arenas (David Makes Man, The Brother/Sister Plays), Glenn Davis (King James, Downstate) and Jon Michael Hill (Elementary, Pass Over) with Ayanna Bria Bakari (Last Night and the Night Before, The Chi), Harry Lennix (March 14 - April 18 and May 7 - 12, 2024, The Blacklist, The DC Universe), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: SVU, I Wanna Dance with Somebody) and Cedric Young (April 19 – May 5, 2024, Familiar, Lindiwe, The Chi). 

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. Spirited, hilarious and filled with intrigue, Purpose is an epic family drama – a long-awaited world premiere from one of the country’s most celebrated voices.