A Raisin in the Sun: Difference between revisions
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
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. |
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. |
||
{{endspoiler}} |
{{endspoiler}} |
||
==Litigation== |
|||
The experiences in this play are also the subject of the lawsuit ''Hansberry v. Lee'', 311 U.S. 32 (1940), in which the Hansberry family fought to have their day in court because a previous action about racially motivated restrictive covenants (''Burke v. Kleiman'', 277 Ill.App. 519 (1934)) was simmilar to the case at hand. They won their right to be heard as a matter of Due Process of Law in relation to the Fourteenth Amdendment. |
|||
==2004 revival== |
==2004 revival== |
||
Revision as of 06:16, 22 March 2007
You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|November 2006|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The story is based upon 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.
Introduction
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?". Throughout the play, the idea of deferred dreams in a prominent theme as each member of the Younger family attempts to find his or her place amidst a number of setbacks.
With its all African American cast, A Raisin In The Sun 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.[1] The New York Times stated that Raisin in the Sun "changed American theater forever."[2]
In 1960 A Raisin In The Sun was nominated for four Tony Awards:
Best Play.... Written by Lorraine Hansberry; Produced by Philip Rose, David J. Cogan
Best Actor in Play.... Sidney Poitier
Best Actress in a Play.... Claudia McNeil
Best Direction of a Play.... Lloyd Richards
Original Broadway Cast
- Sidney Poitier .... Walter Lee Younger
- Claudia McNeil .... Lena Younger
- Ruby Dee .... Ruth Younger
- Diana Sands.... Beneatha Younger
- Ivan Dixon .... Joseph Asagai
- Glynn Turman.... Travis Younger
- John Fiedler.... Karl Lindner
- Lonne Elder III.... Bobo
- Ed Hall.... Moving Man
- Douglas Turner Ward.... Moving Man
- Louis Gossett Jr ( as Louis Gossett) .... George Murchison
Produced by Philip Rose and David J. Cogan
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Lloyd Richards
Designed by Ralph Alswang; Lighted by Ralph Alswang; Costumes by Virginia Volland; Sound Design by Masque Sound Engineering Company
General Manager: Walter Fried
Production Stage Manager: Leonard Auerbach; Stage Manager: Mervyn Williams
The original Broadway production opened on March 11, 1959 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. 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 until closing on June 25, 1960.
Plot
Template:Spoiler The play is about the working-class Younger family, who dreams of leaving behind the run-down tenement apartment where they have lived for many years. 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
Litigation
The experiences in this play are also the subject of the lawsuit Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940), in which the Hansberry family fought to have their day in court because a previous action about racially motivated restrictive covenants (Burke v. Kleiman, 277 Ill.App. 519 (1934)) was simmilar to the case at hand. They won their right to be heard as a matter of Due Process of Law in relation to the Fourteenth Amdendment.
2004 revival
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 as Walter Younger. 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[citation needed]. The production was noted for attracting a diverse audience and repeatedly breaking ticket sale records at the Royale [citation needed].
Other versions
1961 film
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. PPP
Musical
In 1973, the play was turned into a musical, Raisin. Hansberry's former husband, Robert Nemiroff, wrote the book of the musical. It won the 1974 Tony Award for Best Musical.
TV movie (1989)
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 DuPois and John Fiedler. Fiedler also starred in the original Broadway production and the 1961 film version.
References
- ^ Corley, Cheryl, 'A Raisin in the Sun', Present at the Creation, National Public Radio, 11 March 2002
- ^ Rich, Frank, Theater: 'Raisin in Sun,' Anniversary in Chicago, New York Times, 5 October 1983