International Theatre Database
International Theatre Database
Category
Play
Country
United States
Run Dates
May 12 - Jun 7, 2026
Venue
Run Time
170 minutes
2026.05.12 ~ 2026.06.07
La Jolla Playhouse
West Coast Premiere
Purpose is the 2025 Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The work centers on the influential Jasper family of Chicago, long recognized as pillars of Black American politics through civil rights leaders, celebrity pastors, and congressmen. When the youngest family member, Nazareth, returns home with an unexpected companion, the family must confront decades of hidden secrets and unresolved tensions that threaten to unravel their carefully constructed legacy. The production features sharp dialogue and dark comedy as the family's inner conflicts surface. This West Coast premiere is directed by San Diego-based director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg and runs in the Mandell Weiss Theatre.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Playwright/Author
Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
Director
Samantha C. Jones
Costume Designer
Sherrice Mojgani
Lighting Designer
Lindsay Jones
Sound Designer
Alberto Alvarado
Hair&Wig Designer
Alberto Alvarado
Hair&Wig Designer
Annette Nixon
Production Manager
Heather M. Brose
Stage Manager
Andrea Agosto
Cast(Aziza Houston)
Stephanie Berry
Cast(Claudine Jasper)
Crystal Dickinson
Cast(Morgan Jasper)
Sean Boyce Johnson
Cast(Solomon "Junior" Jasper)
Matthew Elijah Webb
Cast(Nazareth "Naz" Jasper)
Cornell Womack
Cast(Solomon "Sonny" Jasper)
Martha Boles
Understudy
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Playwright/Author
Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
Director
Samantha C. Jones
Costume Designer
Sherrice Mojgani
Lighting Designer
Lindsay Jones
Sound Designer
Alberto Alvarado
Hair&Wig Designer
Alberto Alvarado
Hair&Wig Designer
Annette Nixon
Production Manager
Heather M. Brose
Stage Manager
Andrea Agosto
Cast(Aziza Houston)
Stephanie Berry
Cast(Claudine Jasper)
Crystal Dickinson
Cast(Morgan Jasper)
Sean Boyce Johnson
Cast(Solomon "Junior" Jasper)
Matthew Elijah Webb
Cast(Nazareth "Naz" Jasper)
Cornell Womack
Cast(Solomon "Sonny" Jasper)
Martha Boles
Understudy
Derrick Parker
Understudy
Vandous Stripling II
Understudy
La Jolla Playhouse
San Diego
United States
San Diego
,United States
