Samuel L. Jackson Supports Wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson at Opening of Broadway's New Hit Play, Purpose

Samuel L. Jackson was back on Broadway on Monday, March 17. Well... sort of.

The honorary Oscar winner and stage veteran, 76, stepped out at the Helen Hayes Theater for the opening of Purpose, the acclaimed new play starring his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

It was a family affair with daughter Zoe Jackson also in attendance. The happy family posed together for photos, all three of them sharing smiles at the afterparty.

The event, held at the Edison Rooftop in New York City, was starry overall. Others at the bash included Oscar winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar winner Common, Emmy winner Lena Waithe, Lorraine Toussaint, Bevy Smith, Jussie Smollett and The View's Ana Navarro.

There were also a few reunions among the group. LaTanya reunited with Jesse Williams, whom she starred alongside on Grey's Anatomy. And Samuel and Lucy Liu, both of Kill Bill: Volume 2, were together again as well.

John David Washington, Samuel's former costar, was also in attendance. The two were on Broadway together in the 2022 revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, and reprised their roles in the 2024 film adaptation.

John David's father, Denzel Washington, is on the boards this season in the high-grossing revival of William Shakespeare's Othello.

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Meanwhile, Samuel and LaTanya werent the only pair on a date night at Purpose's opening. Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols, Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin, and Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee were among the other couples enjoying the N.Y.C. night out.

Purpose opened to rave reviews from critics, many praising two-time Pulitzer Prize nominated playright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won a Tony last season for Appropriate.

Jacobs' riviting drama follows the Jasper family — including matriarch Claudine (LaTanya), husband Solomon (Harry Lennix), brothers Solomon Jr. (Glenn Davis) and Nazareth (Tony nominee Jon Michael Hill) and Junior's wife Morgan (Alana Arenas) — as they gather together to celebrate Claudine's belated birthday. But when Naz's friend Aziza (Tony winner Kara Young) shows up unexpectedly, the family "is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black political power and familial duty."

Two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad makes her Broadway directorial debut with Purpose. She told Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal back in February that she was drawn to the work immediately.

"I don't know that I chose it, I think it chose me," she said, before sharing kind words about Jacobs. "He’s genius. He’ll write the familiar in the most unfamiliar way. It’s beautiful and it’s complex. And yet it’s so simple. I just love it, it’s everything that life is, and as we know, life makes the best theater."

Audiences first experienced Purpose when the play had its world premiere in March 2024 at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The production sold out its initial engagement and extension in weeks, becoming one of the highest-grossing shows in Steppenwolf’s nearly 50-year history.

Now, it's on Broadway for a limited 19-week run through July 6.

Tickets for Purpose are now on sale.