Geffen Playhouse Brings Original Broadway Cast Of 'purpose' To L.a. In 2026-27 Season

When Times theatre professional Charles McNulty declared Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Tony Award-winning play “Purpose” nan champion caller play of 2025, he wrote, “I won’t clasp my activity for an L.A. production.”

As it turns out, he didn’t person to.

The L.A. premiere of “Purpose,” featuring its original Broadway cast, will lead Geffen Playhouse’s 2026-27 play pinch a batch of performances opening successful November. The Geffen’s creator director, Tarell Alvin McCraney, has been striving to get nan melodramatic satire astir a prestigious Chicago Black governmental dynasty to L.A. since he saw it successful previews astatine Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, wherever he is an ensemble member.

“It’s had a meteoric ride, and we’re very fortunate to beryllium capable to get it to travel to america aft Broadway,” McCraney said.

The Geffen’s upcoming play continues pinch nan West Coast premiere of Bess Wohl’s Ms. Magazine-inspired “Liberation” and nan L.A. premiere of Ngozi Anyanwu’s related saga “The Monsters,” on pinch nan first-ever staging of L.A. playwright Grace McLeod’s existent property drama “Closing Costs.”

Capping disconnected nan twelvemonth is simply a accumulation of Alice Childress’ modern classic, “Wine successful nan Wilderness,” group amid nan Harlem Uprising of 1964. Broadway icon LaChanze Sapp-Gooding is group to direct.

With this lineup, McCraney said he aimed to “engage america successful reliable questions that are facing our communities, but successful nan astir joyous aliases innovative ways possible.”

“As a personification who is newer to nan L.A. community, I admit that there’s truthful overmuch facing america successful position of economics to lodging to wars and unit adjacent and far,” he said, adding that pinch specified superior issues successful mind, group request spaces for nosy and excitement, and besides to “talk astir those things and prosecute successful those things.”

So how, he asked, tin that beryllium done, “in a measurement that feels invigorating and hopeful?”

The Academy Award-winning screenwriter added that he intentionally chose productions that reside nan existent governmental scenery without waxing “didactic.”

“They besides person an constituent that’s spiritual, that catches you disconnected guard,” he said, “and I deliberation that’s really important, you cognize — nan abstraction successful betwixt wherever we are each trying to dream is specified a susceptible and basal abstraction erstwhile truthful overmuch is coming astatine america truthful fast.”

“We’re trying to make judge that we proceed to prosecute L.A. artists and activity pinch different L.A. theaters to really make judge you each consciousness for illustration you’re coming location and having a speech pinch your organization erstwhile you travel into nan Geffen,” said Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney.

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Beyond thematic inspirations, McCraney said his picks for nan forthcoming play besides fresh nan accepted Geffen play structure: 1 brand-new play, 1 classical (or a middle-aged, classical contender) and a fewer modern hits to information things out.

“We’re trying to make judge that folks are capable to spot plays that possibly they didn’t drawback successful different parts of nan world,” he said, adding that nan halfway conception of nan Geffen is “you’re getting world-class theatre astatine your friends vicinity playhouse.”

This season, nan shiny caller point is “Closing Costs,” which is being produced successful relation pinch L.A.’s IAMA Theatre Company. As witty arsenic it is wise, McLeod’s play dives into nan farcical realm of L.A.’s wildly overpriced existent property marketplace while delivering genuine commentary astir nan sociopolitical dynamics that made it that way.

“Nothing knocked nan upwind retired of my thorax [more] than erstwhile nan play started pinch group trying to waste aliases bargain a house,” McCraney said. “As a personification who has now reached an property wherever I should ain a location — and [with] each news article, including successful nan L.A. Times, telling america really perilous it is — it’s 1 of those things wherever I’m like, ‘Good God, what person we done?’”

“The champion point we could do is laughter astir it,” McCraney said.

Since McCraney was appointed arsenic nan Geffen’s creator head successful 2023, he’s sought to level timely shape productions for illustration “Closing Costs,” pinch themes that consciousness applicable to Angelenos. McCraney moreover picked “The Monsters,” which is group successful nan world of section mixed martial arts, pinch nan 2028 L.A. Olympics successful mind.

He’s besides had to study to discontinue mounting expectations for audiences, which are inherently fickle.

“It’s a bittersweet surrender that you cannot foretell anything,” McCraney said, adding that nan champion he tin do is travel his instincts toward scripts that operation thing wrong himself.

In summation to its show programming, McCraney said nan Geffen this play will besides widen invitations to L.A. organization members pinch audience-facing workshops geared toward divers ages and demographics.

“We person immoderate things up our sleeves,” he said, teasing nan possibilities.