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Purpose (play)
''Purpose'' is a stage play written by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2023–24. The play is a family drama revealing the members of the black, politically prominent Jasper family. It transferred to Broadway for the 2024–25 season at the Hayes Theater, and won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Play. In addition, five of the six actors received Tony Award nominations. It won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Synopsis The fictional Jasper family, a prominent African-American family based in Chicago, reunite under the same roof under auspicious circumstances. Revelations occur as the parents and two grown sons (and partner/friends) attempt to define their value to each other and their identity within black culture and politics. Notable casts Production history The play was commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and was workshopped in 2019 at the Colorado New Play Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (born 1984) is an American playwright. His play ''Purpose'' won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for which his works '' Gloria'' and '' Everybody'' were finalists in 2016 and 2018, respectively. His play '' Appropriate'' marked his Broadway debut as a playwright in 2023 and earned him his first Tony Award; he won a second in 2025 for ''Purpose''. His additional plays include '' An Octoroon'' and '' The Comeuppance''. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016. Early life Jacobs-Jenkins was born in Washington, DC, and raised in the Takoma neighborhood. His father, Benjamin Jenkins, is a retired prison dentist. He and his adopted siblings were raised by a single mother, Patricia Jacobs, who is a Harvard Law School alumna and business owner. As a child, he attended the Roots Activity Learning Center and fell in love with reading black authors, including playwright August Wilson. He spent his summers in Arkansas, where his maternal grandmother and schoolteach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Stone (producer)
David Stone is an American theater and film producer. Personal life Stone was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 14, 1966, and raised in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. Stone married Michael Seelbach in 2014. Education Stone graduated Valedictorian from Marlboro High School in 1984. He received a B.A from The University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1988. Career Stone is a Broadway and Off-Broadway producer, most notably on the international Blockbuster musical, '' Wicked'', which he produced with Marc Platt. He and Platt also produced the two-part film adaptation of the musical. He had his first contact with the theatre business through an internship at Jujamcyn Theaters.Where is David Stone now? crainsnewyork.com. Accessed February 24, 2014. Later he worked with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly Wide-format printer, large-format print magazine with a revamped website. As of 2020, the day-to-day operations of the company are handled by Penske Media Corporation through a joint venture with Eldridge Industries. The magazine also sponsors and hosts major industry events. History Foundation and early years ''The Hollywood Reporter'' was founded in 1930 by William R. Wilkerson, William R. "Billy" Wilkerson (1890–1962) as Hollywood's first daily entertainment trade newspaper. The first edition appeared on September 3, 1930, and featured Wilkerson's front-page "Tradeviews" column, which became influential. The newspaper appeared Monday-to-Saturday for the first 10 years, except for a brief period, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
78th Tony Awards
The 78th Tony Awards were held on June8, 2025, to recognize excellence in Broadway productions during the 2024–25 season. The ceremony took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+ and Pluto TV. The show was hosted by Cynthia Erivo. The musicals ''Death Becomes Her'', ''Buena Vista Social Club'', and ''Maybe Happy Ending'' led the field with ten nominations each. ''Maybe Happy Ending'' emerged as the night's most-awarded production, winning six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play '' Purpose'' won Best Play. Other top acting honors went to Nicole Scherzinger (Best Actress in a Musical), Cole Escola (Best Actor in a Play), and Sarah Snook (Best Actress in a Play). Ceremony information Pluto TV streamed the pre-ceremony broadcast ''The Tony Awards: Act One'', hosted by Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry. Brian Stokes Mitchell served as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pulitzer Prizes
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher. Prizes in 2024 were awarded in these categories, with three finalists named for each: Each winner receives a certificate and $15,000 in cash, except in the Public Service category, where a gold medal is awarded. History Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer gave money in his will to Columbia University to launch a journalism school and establish the Pulitzer Prize. It allocated $250,000 to the prize and scholarships. He specified "four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one in education, and four traveling scholarships". Updated 2013 by Sig Gissler. After his death on October 29, 1911, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded June 4, 1917; they are now announced in May. The ''Chicago Tribun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Minutes (play)
''The Minutes'' is a comedic play written by Tracy Letts. It had its premiere at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago on November 9, 2017, and began previews at the James Earl Jones Theatre in New York City on February 25, 2020. It was scheduled to open on March 15, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was suspended. The production ultimately opened on April 17, 2022, at Studio 54. In 2018, Letts was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, losing to ''Cost of Living'' by Martyna Majok. The play was also nominated for the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play, but lost to '' The Lehman Trilogy''. Premise The show takes place in November and shows the inner-workings of a city council meeting in the fictional town of Big Cherry. Production history Chicago premiere The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on November 9, 2017. The production was directed by Anna D. Shapiro and featured a cast made up of Ian Barford, Penny Slusher, Kevin Anderson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osage County
Osage County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Osage County, Kansas * Osage County, Missouri * Osage County, Oklahoma Osage County () is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Created in 1907 when Oklahoma was admitted as a state, the county is named for and is home to the federally recognized Osage Nation. The county is coextensive with t ... ;It could also refer to: * '' August: Osage County'', a play by Tracy Letts, set in the Oklahoma county ** ''August: Osage County'' (film), the film adaptation of the play {{disambig, geo, uscounty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracy Letts
Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (2013). As a playwright, Letts is known for having written for the Steppenwolf Theatre, Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre. His works include '' Killer Joe'', '' Bug'', '' Man from Nebraska'', '' August: Osage County'', '' Superior Donuts'', ''Linda Vista'', and '' The Minutes''. Letts adapted three of his plays into films, '' Bug'' and '' Killer Joe'', both directed by William Friedkin, and '' August: Osage County'', directed by John Wells. His 2009 play '' Superior Donuts'' was adapted into a television series of the same name. As a stage actor, Letts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesse Jackson Jr
Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is an American former politician and convicted felon. He served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and, prior to his career in elected office, worked for his father in both the elder Jackson's Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign, 1984 presidential campaign and his social justice, civil rights and political activism organization, Rainbow/PUSH, Operation PUSH. Jackson's then-wife, Sandi Jackson, served on the Chicago City Council. He served as a national co-chairman of the 2008 Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama presidential campaign. Jackson established a consistent liberal record on both social and Fiscal policy, fiscal issues, and he has co-authored books on civil rights and personal finance. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a young protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, Jackson has maintained his status as a prominent civil rights leader throughout his political and theological career for over seven decades. He served from 1991 to 1997 as a Shadow congressperson, shadow delegate and senator for the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia. Jackson is the father of former United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. and current U.S. Representative Jonathan Jackson (Illinois politician), Jonathan Jackson. Jackson began his activism in the 1960s and founded the organizations that merged to form the Rainbow/PUSH organization. Extending his activism into international matters beginning in the 1980s, he be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN television received their call letters. It is the most-read daily newspaper in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region, and the sixth-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States. In the 1850s, under Joseph Medill, the ''Chicago Tribune'' became closely associated with the Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln, and the then new Republican Party's progressive wing. In the 20th century, under Medill's grandson 'Colonel' Robert R. McCormick, its reputation was that of a crusading newspaper with an outlook that promoted American conservatism and opposed the New Deal. Its reporting and commentary reached markets outside Chicago through family and corporate relationships at the New York ''Daily News'' and the '' Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Stage Theater
Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman, Second Stage produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established writers. The company formerly had an off-Broadway theater, the Tony Kiser Theater at 305 West 43rd Street on the corner of Eighth Avenue near the Theater District, as well as an off-off-Broadway theater, the McGinn–Cazale Theater on the Upper West Side. In April 2015, the company expanded into Broadway theater productions when it bought the Helen Hayes Theater, at 240 West 44th Street in Manhattan. History Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman founded Second Stage Theater in 1979 to produce “second stagings” of contemporary American plays, later expanding to new works as well. In 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
