Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize

The 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama has been awarded to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' family drama Purpose. Making the announcement, Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller described the play as "a skillful blend of drama and comedy that probes how different generations define heritage."

The other finalists for the prize were Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! and Itamar Moses' The Ally.

Purpose is currently nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play. The play centers on an upper-middle class Black family whose patriach was a leader of the Civil Rights movement. Like all families, there are cracks and secrets just under the surface. Now running at the Hayes Theater, the cast features LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Harry Lennix, Jon Michael Hill, Glenn Davis, Alana Arenas and Kara Young. 

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is awarded “for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life.” Full-length dramas that opened in the United States between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 were eligible for entry.

Recent winners of the prize include Primary Trust by Eboni Booth (2023), English by Sanaz Toossi (2023) and Fat Ham by James Ijames (2022).