About
the Play:
A Raisin in the Sun was one of Royal National Theatre of
Britain's top 100 plays of the 20th century.
A Raisin in the Sun has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues, Female/Male Scenes, and Three-Person Scenes.
A Raisin in the Sun is a full-length drama by Lorraine
Hansberry. This American classic tells the story of the Youngers,
an inner-city African-American family trying to buy a house in a
predominantly white Chicago neighbourhood. They discover that their
fight against the racists in the neighborhood demands a greater
commitment than they realized.
A Raisin in the Sun follows the Youngers, a family composed
of powerful individuals who are yet in many ways typical in their
dreams and frustrations. The
title – taken from Langston Hughes's poem "A Dream Deferred"
– suggests the festering passions and resentments unleashed in its
dialogue. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot
revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three
generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee Jr, his wife Ruth,
his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena. When Mama
Lena receives a life insurance check from the death of her husband,
Walter Lee Sr., she dreams of moving to a new home and a better
neighbourhood in Chicago. Walter Lee Jr., a chauffeur, has other
plans, however: buying a liquor store and being his own man.
Beneatha, an eternal student, dreams of medical school. The tensions
and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama. Sacrifice,
trust and love among the Younger family and their heroic struggle to
retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and
timeless document of hope and inspiration. Since its landmark
premiere on Broadway in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun has been a
staple of the American stage and has resonated with generations of
theatergoers. A powerful portrait of a family caught up in the
pursuit of the American dream and the hope of a better life,
Hansberry's play invites us to consider why the dreams of some are
realized while those of others are, in the words of Langston Hughes,
"dreams deferred."
A Raisin in the Sun premiered
in 1959 on Broadway at the Ethel
Barrymore Theatre in New York City. It
was the first play written
by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first
with a Black director, Lloyd Richards. At the age of 29, she won the
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award
– making her the
first African-American dramatist, the fifth woman, and the youngest
playwright to do so. It was
revived on Broadway in 2004, starring Phylicia Rashad, who
became the first black woman to receive a Tony Award for best
performance by a leading actress.
The play
has become
a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and
is regularly performed in regional repertory, middle school, high
school, college, and community theatre productions.
Looking for a play to
read? A pioneering work by an African-American playwright, the play
was a radically new representation of black life. The struggles of
Walter Lee Younger Jr.
as he
navigates the transition into manhood has been interpreted by actors
as disparate as Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington.
Cast: 3 female, 7 male, 1 boy
What people say:
"Pivotal play in the history
of the American Black theatre." — Newsweek
"A milestone in the American
Theatre." — Ebony
"...changed American theater
forever." — The New York Times
"The power and craft of the
writing make A Raisin in the Sun as moving today
as it was then." — The Guardian
About the Playwright:
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) was an African-American
playwright and author of political speeches, letters, and essays. She
also worked at the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom. Her best known
work, A Raisin in the Sun, was the first play by an
African-American woman produced on Broadway.