Purpose - Play

Purpose - Play at OneAmerica Mainstage - Indiana Repertory Theater

Every family has a version of the story it tells in public. Purpose is about what happens when the private version walks through the front door. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play centers on the Jasper family, whose influence in civil rights, church and politics is well known. Behind that reputation, tensions simmer through a family celebration. Then an uninvited guest arrives, and the secrets start to surface.

That setup is a reason to be in the room. The gap between public ideals and private lives is a rich place for a drama to live, and it invites you to think about legacy, loyalty and responsibility long after the lights go down. Who are we when the image slips? What do we owe the people who share our name? Those questions land harder when you hear them in live performance, with an audience reacting around you. Purpose won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play, honors that belong to the play itself. Here, you can see it close to home.

Indiana Repertory Theatre presents Purpose as a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, with Tyrone Phillips directing the local production. This performance is on February 12, 2027, at 7:30 PM at the OneAmerica Mainstage in Indianapolis. Don't just hear about the play everyone is discussing. Reserve your seats for Purpose in Indianapolis and watch the Jaspers' carefully kept story come apart.