Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Photo Credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation).
Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company is once again at the center of national acclaim. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Purpose, a play commissioned, developed and premiered at Steppenwolf before heading to Broadway.
Steppenwolf Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis praised the milestone, saying, “Congratulations to the brilliant playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on today’s 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama in recognition of Purpose, a play commissioned, developed and premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre. As we prepare to launch Steppenwolf’s 50th Anniversary Season, this honor underscores our company’s time-honored commitment to developing ensemble-driven, new works. Purpose now joins August: Osage County by ensemble member Tracy Letts as the second Steppenwolf-commissioned play to receive this prestigious honor.”
Purpose had its world premiere at Steppenwolf on March 24, 2024, where it sold out its initial run and extensions, becoming one of the highest-grossing shows in the company’s history. Directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad, the play features Steppenwolf ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis, and Jon Michael Hill, alongside LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Harry Lennix and Tony Award winner Kara Young.
The Pulitzer win comes on the heels of six Tony Award nominations for the Broadway production, including Best Play and acting nods for LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Jon Michael Hill, Harry Lennix, Glenn Davis and Kara Young.
Now playing a limited engagement at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York, Purpose continues to carry the spirit of Chicago’s theater scene to a national stage.
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