#africanamerican — Public Fediverse posts

It used to take Dawn Myers 90 minutes to wash and style her hair. With her company’s hair product called Mint, “We get that styling time down to about seven to 10 minutes,” she said. @Techcrunch has more on how Myers is untangling the process of caring for curly hair:

https://flip.it/bR4p1z

#Tech #HairCare #AfricanAmerican

Theater Review: Purpose by The Huntington

Purpose

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Josiah Davis

October 8, 2026: Wimberly Theatre, The Calderwood Pavilion, Boston, Massachusetts

Cast

Nazareth Jasper ………… Omari K. Chancelor
Solomon “Junior” Jasper …….. Ugo Chukwu
Claudine Jasper ……………………. Chris Everett
Solomon Jasper ………………………. Ezra Knight
Aziza Houston ……. Kalyne Ashley Coleman
Morgan Jasper …………………. MarHadoo Effeh

In Purpose, we meet wilderness photographer Naz, who introduces and narrates the play.  The story begins when he agrees to be a sperm donor for his friend Aziza, hastily meeting in Niagara Falls.  Afterwards, Aziza drives Naz to his family home in Chicago.  His father Solomon is a reverend and a minor celebrity of the Civil Rights Movement.  His mother Claudine is trained in law but instead embraces the role of family matriarch.  His brother Junior was a state senator but was convicted along with his wife Morgan of embezzling campaign funds.  Their sentences are non-concurrent and the play takes place when Junior has just been released from prison but Morgan’s term has not begun (with Morgan angry about how she’s been treated by the family).

While Aziza was supposed to just drop Naz off, a sudden storm prompts her to stay the night at the Jasper house.  During dinner, a heated family argument breaks out and over the night that follows, secrets are revealed and relationships are permanently changed.  The underlining concern for the Jaspers is just how far they will go to protect the family name. The play deals with some serious issues including mental illness, infidelity, LGBTQIA affirmation, prison reform, and very nuanced discussions of Christian faith.  But it is also is riotously funny. I suppose seeing families at the worst is something that can resonate with everyone.

The cast was top notch, including understudy Chris Everett portraying Claudine in place of Phyllis Yvonne Stickney. Kalyne Ashley Coleman stands out as the exuberant Aziza, the outsider caught in the family maelstrom. The intricately detailed set shows two stories of the Jasper’s elegant Victorian-era house.  The set design is by Se Hyun Oh who previously created the impressive house set for 2025’s The Hills of California. Lighting also plays a part in Naz’s narration.  He frequently presses the shutter on his camera to stop the action for an aside as well as to project photos on the upper floor.  Purpose won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 2025 and I’m pleased to see it performed in Boston.

Director Josiah Davis previously directed the work-in-progress reading of Lifted, part of the Ufot Cycle. I’ve also previously seen performances starring Chris Everett (The Interrobangers, The Christmas Revels) and MarHadoo Effeh (Gem of the Ocean).

Purpose continues at the Calderwood Pavilion through October 11.