Purpose, Helen Hayes Theater, New York, May, 2025: Black, Live, and in Colour
January 2026
Over the past decade or so, I have found myself joyfully wondering whether American theatre is in the midst of a golden age of playwriting. This thought embraces not only the thrilling new generation of writers, but also those in mid-career, as well as theatrical elders who continue to strive for excellence — David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Adrienne Kennedy to name a few.
Wherever this line of thinking takes me, and whatever criteria I apply in my deliberations, one writer continually comes to mind: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Now forty, he is no longer the new kid on the block, yet his work still carries the vitality and freshness of a new voice. As he enters mid-career, he stands as a fully-fledged, established, and deservedly lauded artist — and may very well be the finest playwright currently working in the English language.
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