Broadway Reviews Theatre Review by Howard Miller - March 17, 2025 Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Directed by Phylicia Rashad. Scenic design by Todd Rosenthal. Costume design by Dede Ayite. Lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker. Sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. Hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis. Fight director Michael Rossmy. Vocal coach Kate Wilson. Dramaturg Jonathan L. Green.
Where Appropriate deals with the dirty little (and sometimes big) secrets that fester among the members of a white family gathered at the creaky old former plantation house and homestead of its deceased patriarch, Purpose recalibrates the theme so that it encompasses a revered Black family who gather at the far more modern and upscale home of its cantankerous patriarch Solomon "Sonny" Jasper (Harry Lennix), who is very much alive and sharp-tongued as a viper. In this, he is only slightly more overtly offensive than his wife Claudine (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), who prefers to attack through wile and manipulation; we're told she holds a law degree, and her training in that area serves her well in her chosen "profession" of carrying out the all-important role of family matriarch. Solomon, we soon learn, is a more-or-less retired minister who was a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-twentieth century. He remains a hero to many, and the responsibility of keeping that public image burnished is one he and Claudine, married for nearly fifty years, take most seriously. The most visible fly in the ointment is their eldest son, Solomon "Junior" Jasper (Glenn Davis), a one-time state senator, found guilty of embezzling campaign funds and now returning home after serving his prison sentence. He is joined by his seethingly angry wife Morgan (Alana Arenas), who is about to serve a sentence of her own for tax fraud in connection with her husband's criminal activity. Their story mirrors that of Jesse Jackson and his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., though, of course, Jacobs-Jenkins has filled in that "coincidence" through his creative imagination.
There you have it: the perfect setup for an explosive family drama. As a playwright, Jacobs-Jenkins knows both how to dip into a well of familiar tropes and yet somehow make them his own. In this, he is a consummate plotter and wordsmith (which is why assigning to Naz the dual role of character and narrator here is not in the least distracting). So, in Purpose, we've got the dramatically rewarding if familiar set-up of a dysfunctional family gathering, the inclusion of outsider guests who serve as the audience's surrogates, a snowstorm that forces all to stay even when leaving would seem to be a smart thing to do, and most delectably, the dinner from hell. Ah, yes. The dinner. Jacobs-Jenkins serves up a doozy of a shared meal that rivals that of another wild and woolly Steppenwolf production, namely Tracy Letts' August: Osage County. If Claudine does not embody the preternatural evil that is Violet Weston in the Letts play, she is quite as capable of inflicting damage; indeed, her sneak attacks are often more mean-spirited than those of her husband's direct assaults on Junior, who was supposed to follow in his footsteps, on Morgan (whose been tied to the family long enough to know what's what), and on Aziza, who joins the enemies list when she spills the beans on a secret that was supposed to be kept between her and Naz. The latter is not spared the fire of disapproval, but he has long since created a life for himself that minimizes such delightful family visits. Act I of Purpose is sheer perfection, exquisitely and seamlessly played out in dark and darkly comic moments. Act II gets a bit too talky (especially toward the end), but that amounts to a quibble, a matter of personal taste. Throughout, all six cast members are given a chance to shine, and they all rise to the occasion while still giving the whole evening a truly ensemble feel under Phylicia Rashad's lovely direction. The design elements as well, from Todd Rosenthal's gorgeous set that suggests a home meant to receive and impress important guests, to Dede Ayite's costumes, Amith Chandrashaker's lighting, and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen's unobtrusive sound design, contribute immensely to the production of what is decidedly an outstanding entry to the Broadway season as it begins its race toward the April 27 cutoff date for 2025 Tony eligibility.
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