Purpose - Play

Purpose - Play at OneAmerica Mainstage - Indiana Repertory Theater

A family can agree on its public legacy and still have no idea how to talk to one another at dinner. Behind closed doors, it's another story. Purpose steps into that gap on February 6, 2027, at 5:00 PM, when the Jasper family gathers for a celebration at the OneAmerica Mainstage in Indianapolis. Their public lives carry weight in civil rights, church and politics. Their private lives carry something heavier.

Then comes the knock nobody wanted. An uninvited guest arrives, and the family's carefully kept secrets start to surface. That's the kind of dramatic pressure that makes a live audience lean forward. You aren't reading about a family in crisis. You're in the room while the polished surface cracks, and you're left to wonder how much of any public image is the whole truth. Questions of legacy, loyalty and responsibility sit at the center of the evening, and they're the kind you may carry out the door and into the car ride home.

This is also a chance to see a landmark of contemporary theatre in person. 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 itself, and Indiana Repertory Theatre brings it to Indianapolis as a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, directed by Tyrone Phillips. Pick your seats for this Saturday-evening Purpose performance and secure your place at the Indiana Repertory Theater.