Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, professor in the practice of theater and performance studies at Yale University, has won the Tony Award for Best Play for his drama, Purpose. His win comes just weeks after Purpose won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
The award-winning play explores the complex dynamics and legacy of an upper-middle-class African American family in Chicago whose patriarch was a key figure in the civil rights movement. It premiered in 2024 at the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago and opened its Broadway production in March. In addition to Best Play, Purpose earned a second Tony Award for Kara Young, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for her portrayal of the character Aziza Houston.
Professor Jacobs-Jenkins’ recent win makes him the first Black playwright to receive the Best Play award since August Wilson won for his play Fences in 1987. Additionally, Professor Jacobs-Jenkins is now the first Black playwright to win back-to-back Tony Awards. Last year, his play Appropriate won Best Revival of a Play. His two other plays, Everybody and Gloria, were both Pulitzer Prize finalists.
Prior to joining the Yale faculty in 2021, Professor Jacobs-Jenkins taught at New York University, The Juilliard School, Hunter College, and the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Princeton University and a master’s degree in performance studies from New York University.
