Video: Phylicia Rashad on PURPOSE at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad returns to Steppenwolf to direct the world premiere of PURPOSE, a epic family drama by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. In all new video, Rashad discusses this powerful show, the exciting process and why she's glad to be back at Steppenwolf.

Harry Lennix (The Blacklist, The DC Universe) and Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: SVU, I Wanna Dance with Somebody) lead the cast of its world premiere of Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Purpose, an epic family drama by two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad.

Lennix and Tunie are joined by 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).

Purpose will play March 14 – April 21, 2024 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Single tickets for Purpose starting at $20 are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 6 pm.

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. Rowdy, 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.

The creative team includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design), Dede Ayite (Costume Design), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design), Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen (Sound Design), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager). 

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