Jon Michael Hill is currently starring on Broadway in “Purpose,” the Tony Award-winning Best Play written by Branden Jacob-Jenkins that has been extended through the end of August. He is joined on stage by an ensemble cast that includes Brenda Pressley, Harry Lennix, Glenn Davis, Kara Young, and Alana Arenas. The AmNews was able to catch up with Hill before two Saturday shows to talk about his character Nazareth (Naz) Jasper and this production.
AmNews: How would you describe your character Naz Jasper in “Purpose”?
Jon Michael Hill (JMH): He is an isolated son of a very prominent civil rights leader and pillar of the community. He is also part of a legacy of the Black community because his father had intended for him to take on the role of a reverend, a pastor in the community, and he went in a different direction.
AmNews: What is the dynamic of this family?
JMH: When we meet this family, they are coming together. It’s a homecoming happening, so this is a fractured family. They were once a well-oiled machine, [a] powerful family; when we meet them, they are picking up the pieces and coming back together after a fracture.
AmNews: Why is it important to have a character like Naz in a Broadway production in this day and time?
JMH: A lot of this is about diagnoses and self-identification, and I think in this day and age, those things are very important in ongoing conversations. Nazareth identifies as asexual; he also is possibly on the spectrum, which is a conversation, because diagnoses always continue to change, be updated, and we always learn more about these things. I think we’re still having a lot of conversations about diagnoses and mental health … The more we learn about these things and how they affect us, I think there’s a generational conversation being had in the play, about how we deal with folks who need perhaps something different and don’t just fit into a cookie-cutter mold of operating.
AmNews: What would you say is Naz’s relationship with his family members?
JMH: He feels a deep responsibility toward them, but there’s also a barrier — he keeps a lot from them. Throughout the play, you get to see him interact with them individually and you see how deep their relationship goes, how deep his connection is to each of them. You also see there is a barrier, a gap that cannot be bridged at the moment, until perhaps they find a new way to understand each other, so I think he’s extremely close and cares deeply about all of these folks. He just also is trying to protect his well-being, what he knows he needs to function, which is, to some degree, solitude.
AmNews: What Black family issues are addressed in this play that people don’t tend to want to talk about — you mentioned that he’s asexual and on the spectrum?
JMH: When you’re in an environment where you are keeping something from your family, there is a weight that you carry. There is a dilemma because you’re keeping things from your family that they may not understand either, but sometimes you have to give people the chance and it may not be an immediate acceptance or understanding, and that’s where the difficulty comes in. It’s like are you both willing to know the tale a little better and get closer to progress and understanding.
AmNews: There’s a lot of humor in this play, but the subject matter is actually very serious. How do you balance between the two?
JMH: Our director, Phylicia Rashad, really helps us keep it honest. The humor is mostly baked in there, into Branden’s script, and if we just approach it with reality, she says the reality of human behavior is funnier than anything we can come up with. As long as we’re giving honest human behavior with the comedy, then we’re moving in the right direction.
AmNews: How does the cast work together?
JMH: It’s like a band. At different points, a different bandleader sort of takes the lead, has something useful to say. I think we all appreciate what the others do individually. We appreciate everybody’s unique gifts and try to hold each other up and highlight each other, celebrate each other in that way. When you have genuine respect and love for the artistry of everybody, then the ensemble can continue to get closer and grow and explore together, and try things and fail, and know that the other folks are going to pick you up when you stumble. That’s really how an ensemble works and that’s what Steppenwolf theater in Chicago is known for, and we try to bring that camaraderie, that ethos, to every project. The play is the thing and we’re all in service of it. One of the best ways to achieve that is to take care of each other and allow each other to shine.
AmNews: How is it with Brenda Pressley taking over the role of Claudine, originated by LaTanya Richardson Jackson?
JMH: We really got lucky. This ensemble has been together for a long time, doing more than 100 performances, so there’s so much nuance baked in at this point and we’re lucky that we got Brenda Pressley, who did an extreme amount of work on her own, because she only had a few rehearsals with us and was able to step into this enormous role that LaTanya had filled out. She’s a larger-than-life personality, energy, and has done something incredible with Claudine. Brenda is a completely different instrument, so the fact that she was able to step in and join in at speed is very impressive and we’re very lucky to have her.
AmNews: How do you feel about the show being extended through the end of August?
JMH: It just means that more people are able to come and experience this story. I feel that we’re so grateful that audiences are having this transcendent experience. When the lights go down at the end of this play, you hear people gasp and say “Oh, my God,” and that just means that they were sucked into this journey by Branden’s words and our performances, and really got something out of it. Extending really means that we are continuing to get more eyes and ears on this work.
AmNews: Why should people come to see this production?
JMH: I think there are so many reasons. There is something very ritualistic about theater — it’s a human thing. To sit around the campfire and tell a story, in a way, it really gets to the heart of that tradition, simply for the company, and a good story. Also, the themes that are approached in the play are universal and I think they leave people having conversations. I think that is the best thing that art can do: challenging our preconceived notions and then when people leave the theater, they are having discussions about what they interpreted the work to be. I think that’s a testament to what Branden has written. We’ve had so many conversations with people after the show: “I’m coming back with this family member or this group of friends,” because they want to discuss what this play brings up. That’s the main reason I think people should come. If you want to be opened up and expand your perception of certain things, this is the way to do it … This is the most Black people I’ve seen in a Broadway audience for any play that I have done. I’m overjoyed, and we do get a lot of people who say this is their first time at a play and that makes me so happy.
AmNews: Why is it important to hear the voices of playwrights like Branden Jacobs-Jenkins?
JMH: Branden gives voice to a lot of voices we wouldn’t hear from. I think no one was expecting a main character like Nazareth to be on stage, and that’s another great thing art can do. He’s given a voice to the voiceless or the underrepresented. We need to hear Branden’s voice because he is one of the preeminent voices of our time right now. He’s operating on the level that people will be talking about him with the likes of August Wilson. I think he just continues to hone his craft and get better and better, and he’s so smart. We need voices like that in the world.