When Times theater critic Charles McNulty declared Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Tony Award-winning play “Purpose” the best new drama of 2025, he wrote, “I won’t hold my breath for an L.A. production.”
As it turns out, he didn’t have to.
The L.A. premiere of “Purpose,” featuring its original Broadway cast, will lead Geffen Playhouse’s 2026-27 season with a batch of performances beginning in November. The Geffen’s artistic director, Tarell Alvin McCraney, has been striving to get the dramatic satire about a prestigious Chicago Black political dynasty to L.A. since he saw it in previews at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, where he is an ensemble member.
“It’s had a meteoric ride, and we’re very fortunate to be able to get it to come to us after Broadway,” McCraney said.
The Geffen’s upcoming season continues with the West Coast premiere of Bess Wohl’s Ms. Magazine-inspired “Liberation” and the L.A. premiere of Ngozi Anyanwu’s sibling saga “The Monsters,” along with the first-ever staging of L.A. playwright Grace McLeod’s real estate comedy “Closing Costs.”
Capping off the year is a production of Alice Childress’ modern classic, “Wine in the Wilderness,” set amid the Harlem Uprising of 1964. Broadway icon LaChanze Sapp-Gooding is set to direct.
With this lineup, McCraney said he aimed to “engage us in tough questions that are facing our communities, but in the most joyous or innovative ways possible.”
“As a person who is newer to the L.A. community, I recognize that there’s so much facing us in terms of economics to housing to wars and violence near and far,” he said, adding that with such serious issues in mind, people need spaces for fun and excitement, and also to “talk about those things and engage in those things.”
So how, he asked, can that be done, “in a way that feels invigorating and hopeful?”
The Academy Award-winning screenwriter added that he intentionally chose productions that address the current political landscape without waxing “didactic.”
“They also have an element that’s spiritual, that catches you off guard,” he said, “and I think that’s really important, you know — the space in between where we are all trying to dream is such a vulnerable and necessary space when so much is coming at us so fast.”
“We’re trying to make sure that we continue to engage L.A. artists and work with other L.A. theaters to really make sure you all feel like you’re coming home and having a conversation with your community when you come into the Geffen,” said Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Beyond thematic inspirations, McCraney said his picks for the forthcoming season also fit the traditional Geffen season structure: one brand-new play, one classic (or a middle-aged, classic contender) and a few contemporary hits to round things out.
“We’re trying to make sure that folks are able to see plays that maybe they didn’t catch in other parts of the world,” he said, adding that the core concept of the Geffen is “you’re getting world-class theater at your friendly neighborhood playhouse.”
This season, the shiny new thing is “Closing Costs,” which is being produced in association with L.A.’s IAMA Theatre Company. As witty as it is wise, McLeod’s play dives into the farcical realm of L.A.’s wildly overpriced real estate market while delivering genuine commentary about the sociopolitical dynamics that made it that way.
“Nothing knocked the wind out of my chest [more] than when the play started with people trying to sell or buy a house,” McCraney said. “As a person who has now reached an age where I should own a home — and [with] every news article, including in the L.A. Times, telling us how perilous it is — it’s one of those things where I’m like, ‘Good God, what have we done?’”
“The best thing we could do is laugh about it,” McCraney said.
Since McCraney was appointed as the Geffen’s artistic director in 2023, he’s sought to platform timely stage productions like “Closing Costs,” with themes that feel relevant to Angelenos. McCraney even picked “The Monsters,” which is set in the world of local mixed martial arts, with the 2028 L.A. Olympics in mind.
He’s also had to learn to quit setting expectations for audiences, which are inherently fickle.
“It’s a bittersweet surrender that you cannot predict anything,” McCraney said, adding that the best he can do is follow his instincts toward scripts that stir something within himself.
In addition to its show programming, McCraney said the Geffen this season will also extend invitations to L.A. community members with audience-facing workshops geared toward diverse ages and demographics.
“We have some things up our sleeves,” he said, teasing the possibilities.
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