PURPOSE Previews- Page 2

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/2/25 at 8:19pm

Went this afternoon,

I found a lot to like about it, but the endless narration really messed with the pace for me. I get that it’s supposed to emphasize his feelings of isolation, but very little requires his stream-of-consciousness commentary. APPROPRIATE succeeded because the twists were mostly show, not tell. Here, nearly every aside sets up some soap opera level foreshadowing that deflates the suspense.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

When Jon Michael Hill’s character mentions the rifle in the basement in the first five minutes of the show and says “More on that later”, it’s basically pistol whipping the audience with the concept of Chekov’s gun.

Cut about 15-20 minutes of that and you’ve sold me. I’ll go back after it’s opened.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 3/2/25 at 9:54pm

Yes, that line was cringe when it was delivered, and the foreshadowing here is so clunky and obvious it really undercuts Act 2. I think these missteps--all arising out of the narration--is so frustrating because Jenkins is such a brilliant writer that its confounding AND because the rest of the production is so so strong. Very odd. 

As I likely wont have time to see it again, very curious if this gets cleaned up before opening.

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/3/25 at 12:36am

It’s almost as if he doesn’t trust the protagonist or the audience to connect the dots of the many soapy twists

[Whiskers2]

Posted: 3/6/25 at 10:42am

saw this last night and thought it was quite good - runtime was down to 2h50m, a couple of things dragged in act 2, but seems like not as much as people have mentioned in this thread. I also didn't notice the spoiler that was mentioned above, so that may have been removed.

[Miss10036]

Posted: 3/8/25 at 12:55pm

Is one side better than the other for sightlines, and do you miss much substantively sitting on the far sides?  A lot of the TodayTix rush seats appear to be on the further sides, many marked partial view, and I'm debating whether to go that route or just plan ahead and do TDF for a later performance...

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/9/25 at 11:01pm

This was fantastically entertaining and perfectly cast. My money is on this winning the Tony for Best Play.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/9/25 at 11:05pm

Getting home from tonight’s performance and it seems I’m in the same boat with most others here - excellent play but that narration needs to either go or find a way to tighten it up significantly. The play never really drags for me but it could be a lot tighter with all that gone. 

There’s not a weak link in this cast and somehow (i see a lot of shows, y’all) it just went over my head that Jon Michael Hill was in this. So when the lights came up and he was onstage, I sat up real straight with a big smile on my face - I think he’s so fantastic. 

I’ll add (since I’m just typing thoughts that pop in my mind) now that I’m thinking about it, I wish we had more of the sister-in-law in act two. At the end of act one it’s so explosive with her that I expected a big pay off with the character later on that I don’t think we got. We get a great scene with her but I felt we were maybe owed more? I’d see a whole other play just about her, though and Alana Arenas makes one hell of a Broadway debut with that role. She’s one to watch. 

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 12:26am

same as others

Act 1 is soooooo great!

Act 2 needs an editor.  It's good but not as good.

Cast falls into the category of Best Ensemble Tony.

Kara Young is falling into the category of she could read the telephone book and make it award worthy!

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 9:00am

I went again last night on a whim for rush (it was the only non-tourist show playing in the evening).

Act I is MUCH tighter and some of the narration is gone, which got things moving faster. (Although, to my irritation, my spoiler from an earlier post remains).

The second act still could benefit from BJJ realizing that not everything Naz asides needs to be so prosaic. For some of them, economy of speech may actually increase the impact rather than blunt it.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 1:18pm

This very enjoyable show would definitely benefit from judicious editing. Reading through the posts, most are referring to the 'narration' as being the thing that is excessive. And it is. But not only the narration. All the characters speak in lengthy page long paragraphs. This is fine for when a writer is getting ideas on the page in an exploratory draft, but feels mastabatory in actual performance. The playwright needs to learn the art of concise dialogue. The play is funny and compelling but would be even stronger with some breathing room. I hope the playwright's quick success hasn't left him surrounded only by people who say "yes." He's too talented for his future work to suffer from that.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 1:29pm

"the playwright's quick success" 

I'm so confused by what is meant by this.

Updated On: 3/10/25 at 01:29 PM

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 2:25pm

Perhaps a bad string of words on my part. What I meant was that I hope the playwright has not reached a level of success where he no longer receives strong constructive criticisms hat might benefit his writing.  That often happens when a playwright reaches a certain level of prestige, and the quality of their writing often suffers as a result. 

Updated On: 3/10/25 at 02:25 PM

[mridley2]

Posted: 3/10/25 at 9:35pm

has anyone tried in person rush at the box office? Curious where the seats have been located. Thanks

[Whiskers2]

Posted: 3/11/25 at 1:43pm

Miss10036 said: "Is one side better than the other for sightlines, and do you miss much substantively sitting on the far sides? A lot of the TodayTix rush seats appear to be on the further sides, many marked partial view, and I'm debating whether to go that route or just plan ahead and do TDF for a later performance..."

you do miss a lot of an important scene in act 1 if you are seated in the far left side of the orchestra.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 10:58am

Can anyone confirm that today's matinee is cancelled? I got a refund from TDF with no explanation, and the matinee isn't listed on Criterion ticketing anymore.

[rachelfran]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:54pm

i saw this on March 7 so I wonder where they were in terms of edits .. the first half was very good and the crowd was with them .. despite too much narration.  The second half - dragged.  So many long monologues and cast was dropping words making it even harder to follow. 

I got a pair from TDF and we were center row B in the mezzanine.  Perfect view.  Nice set.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/25/25 at 8:03am

Alana Arenas Finds Her Purpose On Broadway In Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Newest Play

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerylbrunner/2025/04/21/alana-arenas-finds-her-purpose-on-broadway-in-branden-jacobs-jenkins-newest-play/