Purpose - Play

Purpose - Play at OneAmerica Mainstage - Indiana Repertory Theater

The Jasper family looks flawless from the outside. Their public influence runs through civil rights, church and politics. Then a family celebration begins, and the private version of the story starts pushing through the polished one. Purpose at Indiana Repertory Theater in Indianapolis is built on that gap between public ideals and private lives. It is the kind of tension that makes you lean forward in your seat. See the OneAmerica Mainstage - Indiana Repertory Theater venue guide for location and visitor information.

Then an uninvited guest arrives, and family secrets begin to surface. That is where live theatre does what a screen can't: it puts you in the room while one gathering turns into a pressure cooker. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins wrote the play, which won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. Those honors belong to the play, not to the Indianapolis cast. Still, they point to a contemporary work that has drawn serious national attention. Tyrone Phillips directs this local production, presented by IRT as a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Plays like this stay with you. Legacy, family loyalty and responsibility are not abstract ideas here. They are questions you may find yourself turning over on the drive home, and maybe arguing about with whoever sat beside you. Bring a friend, a sibling or a parent, and let the story open up a conversation. If you want to be in the audience when the Jaspers' carefully built image starts to crack, reserve your seats for Purpose at the Indiana Repertory Theater.