Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – State of the nation plays in the guise of family dramas: Chisa Hutchinson’s AMERIKIN and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ PURPOSE

• By drediman
• March 20, 2025
• No Comments

This week saw the opening of a pair of new and ambitious — albeit tragicomic — family dramas. On the one hand, each operates as an effect comedy of manners in their caustic depictions of family dynamics within certain socioeconomic conditions. On the other hand, each in their own way also provides a slicing critique of the current state of our nation. Long story short, both are worth your time and resources. Read on for further details on my thoughts as to why below.

PURPOSE
Helen Hayes Theatre
Through July 6

First up there’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Broadway transfer of Purpose (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins highly anticipated follow-up to Appropriate, one of last season’s most acclaimed plays. While clearly and cleverly drawing from the theatrical canon’s great family dramas — specifically Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, and Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County — the playwright’s latest magnificently stands on its own, arguably deserving itself to be on this distinguished list of classics. Structured as a memory play, this meaty work paints a portrait of a conservative, well-to-do Black family facing its own demons, in the process tackling a wide range of relevant contemporary issues and themes. The piece proves how far Jacobs-Jenkins’ has come as a playwright — Purpose is wise, incendiary, often hilarious, and ultimately profound in its clear-eyed search for consolation and the truth. It’s all masterfully orchestrated, organically unfolding over nearly three hours without losing our engagement. There’s also a haunted sadness and a bittersweet sentiment that underlies the play — perhaps suggesting a country unmoored and adrift — thanks largely to Jon Michael Hill’s gorgeous central performance as the neurodivergent son, through whose lens the play transpires (the other standout performance comes from Hill’s fellow Steppenwolf Ensemble Member, the luminous Alana Arenas, who plays his embittered sister-in-law to perfection). Purpose is helmed by stage and screen star Phylicia Rashad, who has directed a beautifully calibrated ensemble production that features a bevy of fully fleshed out performances from the likes of Latanya Richardson Jackson and Tony-winner Kara Young.

AMERIKIN
Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters
Through April 13

Then there’s Chisa Hutchinson’s play Amerikin (RECOMMENDED), which is currently enjoying its New York premiere Off-Broadway over at 59E59 Theaters (the work was originally seen at Houston’s Alley Theatre in 2022). Set in 2017 in Sharpsburg, Maryland, the play chronicles the breakdown of a white supremicist — and the disintegration of his fledgling family — when he learns about the real truth of his racial heritage. The first act is a mere setup for the surprising and at times harrowing drama that unfolds in the second act, which introduces a few new characters who give depth and dimension to the cringeworthy — but sadly illustrative — bigotry on display until they come into the picture (no spoilers here). Hutchinson packs a lot into the play’s two-hour running time, namely layers of complexity to throw audiences off the scent, only to ultimately come to a starkly prescriptive stance — quite unlike the autumnal grace and empathy that Jacobs-Jenkins eventually lets wash over Purpose. As an audience member, Hutchinson’s formula makes for often gripping viewing, even if the play isn’t quite perfect. But what Amerikin lacks in organic theatrical storytelling — you often feel the outlines of its structure as the dramatic machinations churn towards the work’s conclusion — it makes up for in visceral, thought-provoking theater that seethes with anger, confusion, and disillusionment. Primary Stages’ production has been efficiently directed by Jade King Carroll, who elicits some brave and powerful performances from her cast (particularly fine are the conflicted portraits painted by Daniel Abeles and Victor Williams, as well as the always excellent Andrea Syglowski as the play’s grounding force). At times, some of the performances come awfully close to parody — I suspect by design — until they become uncomfortably and terrifyingly real.