Raisin (musical)

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This article is about the 1973 musical. For other uses, see Raisin (disambiguation).

Raisin was a musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, with songs by Judd Woldin and Robert Brittan, and a musical book by Robert Nemiroff (who was Hansberry's former husband) and Charlotte Zaltzberg. The Tony Award-winning musical was directed by choreographed by Donald McKayle.

It was opened on Broadway on October 18, 1973 at the 46th Street Theatre after being first presented in Washington D.C. Raisin ran for 847 performances, closing on December 8, 1975. Raisin won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1974.

Lead star Virginia Capers won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and stayed in the production for the entire run. She also headlined the national tour. Other notable cast members were Joe Morton, Debbie Allen, Good Times star Ralph Carter, 227 star Helen Martin and Ted Ross, who would win a Tony Award a few years later as the Cowardly Lion in The Wiz. Morton and Carter were nominated for Tony Awards for this production, as was Ernestine Jackson.

In 2006 it was revived at Court Theatre in Chicago, with Ernestine Jackson, formerly Ruth, playing the role of Lena Younger.