Purpose: a Michigan premiere family drama at the Detroit Repertory Theatre

In Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Purpose, the influential Jasper family has anchored Black American politics for decades: civil rights leaders, pastors, congressmen. But this family has its cracks and secrets too, sitting just below the surface. When youngest son Nazareth comes home to Illinois with an uninvited friend in tow, everyone is forced into a reckoning with the family itself, its faith and the legacies of Black radicalism. The theater's advice: buckle up.

It's a spirited, hilarious family epic full of intrigue, playing here as a Michigan premiere. The New York Times praised its vivid language, spitfire dialogue and sweeping sense of American history, and warned you might laugh so hard you can't catch your breath. Find it at the Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson Street, Detroit.