Tony-Nominated Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Using Theater to Make Sense of Nonsense

Tony-Nominated Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Using Theater to Make Sense of Nonsense

Ten years after its original staging, “Appropriate” has received eight Tony Award nominations. Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins talks about the moments of his life that inspired it.

The play tells the story of three siblings reuniting in their family home after the death of their father. Charged with going through his belongings, the children discover troubling relics within the home. They are left to deal with the question of an inheritance, but also this new challenge to their late father’s legacy.

Jacobs-Jenkins has since staged “Appropriate” several times, been a Pulitzer Prize finalist for two subsequent plays, and been awarded a MacArthur “genius” fellowship. But it wasn’t until December 2023 that the playwright made his Broadway debut with “Appropriate,” which is now up for eight Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for actress Sarah Paulson.

Host Kai Wright sits with Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins to discuss the real-life moments that inspired the creation of this show, and the playwright’s efforts to understand the complicated inheritances of race in America.

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Episoder(424)

Live From Atlanta: GA Politics, a Growing Gender Gap and Scenes From Spelhouse Homecoming's Tailgate

Live From Atlanta: GA Politics, a Growing Gender Gap and Scenes From Spelhouse Homecoming's Tailgate

With the 2024 presidential election right around the corner, all eyes are on the swing states. In this episode, host Kai Wright travels to Atlanta, the heart of one swing state where early voting numb...

28 Okt 202449min

Author and Playwright Caryl Phillips on James Baldwin’s Friendship

Author and Playwright Caryl Phillips on James Baldwin’s Friendship

In the sixth episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” writer Caryl Phillips shares the experience of getting to know James Baldwin beyond the pages of his work. Phillips not only respected Baldwin as a wri...

26 Okt 202429min

How Important is College to a Successful Career?

How Important is College to a Successful Career?

There is a longstanding, widely held belief that the best chance at a better future is to go off to college – especially for people from marginalized communities.Whether it was your teacher, general p...

21 Okt 202449min

Novelist Elif Shafak on James Baldwin’s Compassion

Novelist Elif Shafak on James Baldwin’s Compassion

In the fifth episode of Notes on a Native Son, our guest is Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak. She has published 21 books, 13 of them novels — including “The Forty Rules of Love” and her latest, “The...

19 Okt 202429min

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Journey to the Supreme Court Has Been a ‘Lovely One’

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Journey to the Supreme Court Has Been a ‘Lovely One’

Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson has always aspired to be a federal judge. In fact, the newest appointed associate justice of the United States Supreme Court wrote in her application to Harvard University...

14 Okt 202455min

Writer Darryl Pinckney on James Baldwin’s Love

Writer Darryl Pinckney on James Baldwin’s Love

In the fourth episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” our guest is the writer and essayist Darryl Pinckney. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books and The Village Voice. Mos...

12 Okt 202429min

‘Imperfect Allies’: Processing a Year of War Across Communities

‘Imperfect Allies’: Processing a Year of War Across Communities

A year ago, the world was shaken when Hamas militants entered Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of hundreds more. It was one of the most devastating days...

7 Okt 202452min

Writer Siri Hustvedt on James Baldwin’s Complexity

Writer Siri Hustvedt on James Baldwin’s Complexity

In the third episode of “Notes on a Native Son,” host Razia Iqbal sits down with the celebrated writer of novels and essays, Siri Hustvedt. When Hustvedt was invited to record a conversation for the p...

5 Okt 202430min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
forklart
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
fotballpodden-2
aftenbla-bla
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik
e24-podden
bt-dokumentar-2