The producers of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play “Purpose” on Broadway have announced that the production has recouped its capitalization. The $5.25 million capitalization — the total amount of money raised by producers from investors to put up a show — was earned back with the aid of the New York State tax credit, in addition to the profits made from its Broadway run. Investors in the production have also received a full return of their contributions.
“Purpose” centers on the fictional Jaspers, an influential Black family, during a rare reunion where they reckon with their relationships, identities, and legacies. The Broadway production, directed by Phylicia Rashad and starring LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Harry Lennix, Jon Michael Hill, Glenn Davis, Alana Arenas and Kara Young, earned two Tony Awards — Best Play and Best Featured Actress for Young — and was nominated for three more. It also won Jacobs-Jenkins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
After premiering at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company the year prior, “Purpose” opened at Broadway’s Hayes Theater on March 17, 2025, running through Aug. 31. During its extended 27-week engagement, it broke box office records for the highest-grossing week in the Hayes’ history. “Purpose” was produced by David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad V. Chambers, Aaron Glick, Universal Theatrical Group, Eastern Standard Time, Trate Productions, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, James L. Nederlander, John Gore, ATG Entertainment, the Shubert Organization and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
The original Broadway cast of “Purpose” will appear in a production at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse this fall, also directed by Rashad. Additional productions of “Purpose” are being mounted worldwide.
