A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The story based on Hansberry's own experiences growing up in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood. A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first play with a black director (Lloyd Richards) on Broadway. The title comes from the opening lines of "Harlem", a poem by Langston Hughes (1902-1967): "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?" A play with an all-black cast was considered to be a risky investment, and it took a year for first-time producer Philip Rose to gather the money to launch the play. After touring to positive reviews, it premiered on Broadway on 11 March 1959 to enthusiastic critical approval. The New York Drama Critics Circle named it the best play of 1959, and it ran for nearly two years. Hansberry noted that it introduced details of black life to the overwhelmingly white Broadway audiences, while director Richards noted that it was the first play to which large numbers of blacks were drawn. The New York Times stated that Raisin in the Sun "changed American theater forever."

The original opening night cast for the Broadway production included: Sidney Poitier, Claudia MacNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Louis Gossett, Jr., Ivan Dixon, Glynn Turman, John Fielder, Lonne Elder III, Ed Hall and Douglas Turner Ward. It opened on March 11, 1959 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Later, both Elder and Ward became award-winning playwrights, and Gossett became the second African-American man (after Poitier) to win an Academy Award for acting. Ossie Davis, husband of co-star Ruby Dee, took over the lead when Poitier left the show. Beah Richards was the understudy for MacNeil. In October 1959, the production moved to the Belasco Theatre, where it stayed for eight months before closing.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The play concerns the working-class Younger family, who dream of leaving behind the dilapidated tenement apartment where they have lived for decades. The son Walter, a chauffeur, dreams of making a fortune by investing in a liquor store but foolishly gives his money to a con artist. His sister Beneatha, a somewhat flighty college student, tries to find her identity and embraces the "back to Africa" philosophy of a Nigerian friend. Their mother, the matriarch, dreams of buying a home, and does so with her late husband's insurance money, but the house is in an all-white neighborhood. Their racist future neighbors hire a man named Karl Lindner as a "Welcoming Committee" to try to buy them out to prevent the neighborhood's integration. However, Walter takes a stand and refuses to be intimidated or bought out; in this, he stops deferring his family's dreams and helps them advance.

The central idea of the play is concerned with combating the myth of black contentment. The stress of poverty is vividly portrayed through the tight quarters as five people are squeezed together onstage into a one room apartment. Template:Endspoiler

Later versions

In 1961, a film version of A Raisin in the Sun was released featuring its original Broadway cast of Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, Louis Gossett, Jr. and John Fiedler. Hansberry wrote the screenplay, and the film was directed by Daniel Petrie. It was released by Columbia Pictures and Ruby Dee won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. Both Poitier and MacNeil were nominated for Golden Globe Awards, and Petrie received a special Gary Cooper Award at the Cannes Film Festival. However, the film received no Academy Award nominations.

It was also not rated by the MPAA, 128 minutes long, and was only in black and white.

In 1973, the play was turned into an musical, Raisin. Hansberry's former husband, Robert Nemiroff, wrote the book of the musical. It won the 1974 Tony Award for Best Musical.

In 1989, it was adapted into a made for TV movie starring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle. This production received three Emmy Award nominations, but were all for technical categories. Bill Duke directed the production, which also featured Starletta DuPoisand John Fiedler. Fiedler also starred in the original Broadway production and the 1961 film version.

The play was revived for a limited run of fifteen weeks on Broadway in 2004 at the Royale Theatre. The revival featured Tony Award-winning performances from Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald; a Tony Award-nominated performance from Sanaa Lathan; and a well publicized Broadway acting debut of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Bill Nunn played the part of Bobo. Rashad is the first African-American to win in the category of Best Lead Actress in a Play. The show recouped quickly and became the second highest grossing play in Broadway history. The production was noted for attracting a diverse audience and repeatedly breaking ticket sale records at the Royale. This production has been slated to be produced for television.

Trivia

• In at least one printed version of the play, Walter's line "Why all you college boys wear them faggoty-looking white shoes?" has "funny" substituted for "faggoty."

• Spike Lee's 1994 film Crooklyn is heavily influenced by A Raisin in the Sun.

• The Strangers with Candy episode Dreams on the Rocks revolves around this play.

• The Supreme Court case that resulted from Hansberry's father's intention to move the family to a white neighborhood is frequently cited for its significance to class action law.

• George Wolfe's play The Colored Museum satirizes the play in the segment The Last Mama-On-The-Couch Play.

External links

• GradeSaver study guide: A Raisin in the Sun
• ISU Play Concordances: A Raisin in the Sun