Tony Nominees Glenn Davis, Harry Lennix and Jon Michael Hill Dig Into Family, Faith and Fallout in Broadway's Purpose

It’s perfectly OK if you didn’t line up in the bitter cold outside the Helen Hayes Theater this past winter to catch some of those early performances of Purpose. But now that the play has been nominated for six Tony awards and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for drama, the heat is on.

“We’re not sneaking up on anyone like we were even a few weeks ago,” says actor Glenn Davis. “People are coming in wanting to be moved, wanting to see what the fuss is all about. But that’s totally fine,” he says. “The proof is in the pudding.”

Indeed, Purpose—directed by Phylicia Rashad—is a rich, provocative and often hilarious look at a powerful Chicago-based African-American family: The imposing Solomon Jasper (Harry Lennix) is a pastor and Civil Rights icon while matriarch Claudine (LaTanya Richardson Jackson) likes to show who’s really boss; fresh-out-of-prison Solomon Jr. (Davis) is a disgraced state senator taken down for embezzling money; his wife, Morgan (Alana Arenas), is soon headed there for co-conspiracy; and youngest son Nazareth (Jon Michael Hill), an introverted nature photographer, is visiting the homestead with his friend, Aziza (2024 Tony winner Kara Young). On one snowy night, secrets are revealed, lives are upended and as the narrator Naz puts it to the audience, “every third rail” is touched.

Off stage, theater veterans Lennix, Davis and Hill—all Tony-nominated for their performances alongside castmates Jackson and Young, in addition to a Best Play nod for Jenkins—are proud of their longstanding, interweaving friendships. Lennix and Davis, both Chicago natives, have known each other since 2000 when the elder actor—perhaps best known for playing Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the 1991 musical film The Five Heartbeats—saw the “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” Davis in a local production of A Raisin in the Sun. Hill recalls meeting Davis during his own Tony-nominated Broadway run of Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts in 2009. The two are also both veteran members of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Davis now serves as its co-artistic director. (Steppenwolf commissioned Purpose and hosted its world premiere last year.) “I’m stepping on stage with people who I know very well,” Davis says. “Jon and I are playing brothers, and it’s an extension of our actual relationship.”

A few hours before a Thursday night performance, the three actors brought their familial chemistry to the Broadway.com office to reflect on the play’s origins, their recent Tony recognition and the purpose they’ve found in Jenkins’ era-defining American drama.

Congrats on all the Tony nods! How did it feel to hear the news?

Jon Michael Hill: I got woken up. But I didn't realize all the nominations hadn’t all come in yet, so I waited around to see the others. Then it was one after another, and oh my goodness. The community recognized what I’ve been witnessing, which is these are absolute titans in this industry at work. To have five of us nominated felt historic.

Harry Lennix: I woke up and checked to see if the play had been nominated. That was what I was hoping for and expecting. Then I got a text from my manager congratulating me on my nomination. Then I saw the same thing from Glenn. Then the same thing from [The Five Heartbeats writer-director] Robert Townsend. It was a shock!

Glenn, the accolades must be especially gratifying for you. Can you explain how you helped put this production together?

Glenn Davis: There’s an old picture of me and Harry in our dressing room. Harry’s wife blew it up for us. I look so happy to be standing next to a big deal. Harry’s been a great mentor to me over the years. For me, as artistic director and producer of the play, there was no greater feeling than to ask him to do the play with us. I called him and said, “Would you come back after 17 years away from doing the theater?” Then I begged Jon to do the play. He’s like, “Alright, Glenn, I’ll do it for you.’” It’s the ultimate satisfaction knowing that these two guys have been rewarded for these incredible performances.

Jon: Glenn quarterbacked the whole thing. And he was on the phone with Branden making sure he completed this mission. It can’t be stated enough how important he was in all this.

What was opening night like?

Jon: I still get nervous every night. But opening night, we hadn’t had a locked script for that long, so there was some trepidation about the actual words that were going to come out of my mouth. But everyone’s there. Your friends and family are there. The folks from the theater community showed up. The pressure really came from us wanting to give Branden’s words their due. You want those words to soar.

Jon, you actually open the play with an extended monologue. Does that come easy for you?

Jon: No, no. These guys make fun of me, but I get to the theater really early and run through all the monologues. It's like ironing out the wrinkles in the memory. But even with that, with the audience being different every night, there is a certain amount of agility needed. If people aren't laughing at a certain line in the first paragraph, I know that I just need to keep this thing clipping, so they will catch up.

How do you each get into your character’s mindset ahead of each performance?

Harry: I never get out of character—even at home! But for me, it’s like putting on a mask. When the costume goes on and the wig goes on, the transformation starts. I’m a very outside-in actor, and I think Jon and Glenn are inside-out.

Glenn: Harry’s right. I’m inside-out. I start with what the character is feeling and his intentions. Jon and I do have a ritual; I won’t say it here, but we go through some motions when we step on stage. But I was late in solidifying my character completely. I was just grasping at things, even in previews.

Harry: It’s almost like trying to find the North Pole every night because we’re always moving. We know what the play is about, but we’re still finding its pulse. Somebody different could be leading the spiritual journey every night.

In your opinion, what is really the central conflict dividing the family?

Jon: Each member of the Jasper family is wrestling with purpose. Branden explores a lot of questions, and I think that’s what allows people to ruminate on the play forever after they leave the theater.

Harry: There's something O’Neill-esque—or Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller-esque—about the family expectations. What are the burdens? What is the debt of obligation on these sons? A hundred years ago, it would be presumed that my sons would follow in my footsteps over the family business, if you will. And they are positioned to do that. I think that's the initial cause of the conflict.

It's certainly an American story too, no?

Harry: I’d argue this is the definitive production of this millennium. It grapples with every hot-button issue—neurodivergence, gender identity, Black Lives Matter, social justice, regular family drama, inter-marital things, the burdens of race, sexuality, Chicago politics and the pandemic. It’s so of-the-moment.

Let’s talk about the climactic dinner scene that closes Act One. Does it play out differently each time?

Glenn: We say the same words every night, but that’s about it. Sometimes we have to pause and wait for the audience to get themselves together, and sometimes we just have to drive through and continue telling the story. It changes based on what’s happening with that seventh member of the family, which is the audience.

What makes that sequence so consequential overall?

Jon: When Nazareth turns to the audience after he sets the table, literally and figuratively, and says, “Buckle up,” there’s a laugh. They know something is coming, because everyone in the audience has done this for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Then it delivers on every expectation. So for some people, the most satisfying part is that their experience is reflected back to them, whether they're Jewish or African American or Latinx. They see a family that’s going to deal with some stuff in real time.

Any other scene you have to internally build up to every night?

Jon: There’s a scene towards the end where we’re all together again. Branden has orchestrated it really well on the page, but it takes Phylicia Rashad’s eye to orchestrate that. The chaos has to be organized enough for folks to understand what's going on and to build that tension.

Harry: There’s a scene in the second act just between Jon and me. It’s the apologia. The defense. I used to have to gear up to it because I would think, what the hell is my intention here? I know what I'm saying, but why am I saying these things? And I think I finally figured out the why.

Glenn: I’m continually learning something new about Junior and trying to excavate what makes this person this person. We'll say to each other, “Oh, I see you did that!” It's like, “Oh, you noticed!”

Speaking of Ms. Rashad, what does she bring to the story as a director?

Jon: Her acting expertise fine-tuned her eye to watch what we were doing up there and nudge us closer to the truth of a moment. I’ve always felt like she could actually see my impulses and instincts. She’s an incredibly observant director, and I think that’s such a gift.

Harry: Having Maestro Phylicia directing the legendary LaTanya Richardson Jackson is a play in itself. It’s a director who’s an actor directing an actor who’s also a director. They are equally matched. It was quite a dynamic watching those two attack this play.

What is the future of the Jasper family? Will the next family dinner run smoother?

Jon: I think there’s a world of hurt in store for Junior. The family would really need to rally in the way they haven’t before. But I think this weekend changes them, so maybe they'll be better equipped to deal with that. Maybe not.

Harry: I'm going to go out on a limb and hope I don’t jinx it in some way. But I think that this is just the beginning for this family. I don't know what it means for these exact members in this exact arrangement, so to speak. But I think that it is a story that begs for another play to be written for a sequel.

Do you know something we don’t?!

Harry: I don’t! But I think it should be serialized in some way. You know, Shakespeare wrote serial plays. I don't see why Jenkins cannot.