A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun

Front cover of the first edition

First-edition publication (Random House 1959)
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Characters
  • Walter Younger
  • Ruth Younger
  • Travis Younger
  • Lena Younger (Mama)
  • Beneatha Younger
  • George Murchison
  • Joseph Asagai
  • Karl Lindner
  • Mrs. Johnson
  • Moving Men


Date premiered March 11, 1959
Place premiered Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Original language English
Genre Domestic tragedy
Setting South Side, Chicago

A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959.[1] The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred"[2]) by Langston Hughes. The story is based upon a black family's experiences in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood.

Plot

Walter and Ruth Younger, their son Travis, along with Walter's mother Lena (Mama) and sister Beneatha, live in poverty in a dilapidated two-bedroom apartment on Chicago's south side. Walter is barely making a living as a limousine driver. Though Ruth is content with their lot, Walter is not and desperately wishes to become wealthy, to which end he plans to invest in a liquor store in partnership with Willy and Bobo, street-smart acquaintances of Walter's.

At the beginning of the play, their father has recently died, and Mama is waiting for a life insurance check for $10,000. Walter has a sense of entitlement to the money, but Mama has religious objections to alcohol and Beneatha has to remind him it is Mama's call how to spend it. Eventually Mama puts some of the money down on a new house, choosing an all-white neighborhood over a black one for the practical reason that it happens to be much cheaper. Later she relents and gives the rest of the money to Walter to invest with the provision that he reserve $3,000 for Beneatha's education. Walter passes the money on to Willy's naive sidekick Bobo, who gives it to Willy, who absconds with it, depriving Walter and Beneatha of their dreams, though not the Youngers of their new home. Meanwhile, Karl Lindner, a white representative of the neighborhood they plan to move to, makes a generous offer to buy them out. He wishes to avoid neighborhood tensions over interracial population, which to the three women's horror Walter prepares to accept as a solution to their financial setback. Lena says that while money was something they try to work for, they should never take it if it was a person's way of telling them they weren't fit to walk the same earth as them.

While all this is going on, Beneatha's character and direction in life are being defined for us by two different men: Beneatha's wealthy and educated boyfriend George Murchison, and Joseph Asagai. Neither man is actively involved in the Youngers' financial ups and downs. George represents the "fully assimilated black man" who denies his African heritage with a "smarter than thou" attitude, which Beneatha finds disgusting, while dismissively mocking Walter's lack of money and education. Asagai patiently teaches Beneatha about her African heritage; he gives her thoughtfully useful gifts from Africa, while pointing out she is unwittingly assimilating herself into white ways. She straightens her hair, for example, which he characterizes as "mutilation."

When Beneatha becomes distraught at the loss of the money, she is upbraided by Joseph for her materialism. She eventually accepts his point of view that things will get better with a lot of effort, along with his proposal of marriage and his invitation to move with him to Nigeria to practice medicine.

Walter is oblivious to the stark contrast between George and Joseph: his pursuit of wealth can only be attained by liberating himself from Joseph's culture, to which he attributes his poverty, and rising to George's level, wherein he sees his salvation. To Walter, this is the American dream, which he pursues as fruitlessly as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, with the added handicap of being black in white America. But whereas Loman dies at the end of his story, Walter redeems himself and black pride at the end by changing his mind and not accepting the buyout offer, stating that they are proud of who they are and will try to be good neighbors. The play closes with the family leaving for their new home but uncertain future.

The character Mrs. Johnson and a few scenes are often cut in reproductions. Mrs. Johnson is the Younger Family's Neighbor. She is nosy, loud and cannot understand how the family can consider moving to a white neighborhood. Her lines are employed as comic relief, but Hansberry also uses this scene to mock those who are too scared to stand up for their rights.

Litigation

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

“
”
Langston Hughes (1951)[3]

All experiences in this play echo a lawsuit (Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940)), to which the playwright Lorraine Hansberry's family was a party when they fought to have their day in court because a previous class action about racially motivated restrictive covenants (Burke v. Kleiman, 277 Ill. App. 519 (1934)) was similar to the case at hand. This case was held prior to the passage of the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968), which prohibits discrimination in housing and created the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Hansberrys won their right to be heard as a matter of due process of law in relation to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court held that the Hansberry defendants were not bound by the Burke decision because the class of defendants in the respective cases had conflicting goals, and thus could not be considered to be the same class.

Interestingly, the plaintiff in the first action was Olive Ida Burke, who brought the suit on behalf of the property owner's association to enforce the racial restriction in 1934. Her husband, James Burke, was the person who sold the property to Carl Hansberry (Lorraine's father) when he changed his mind about the validity of the covenant. Mr. Burke's decision may have been motivated by the changing demographics of the neighborhood, but it was also influenced by the Depression. The demand for houses was so low among white buyers that Mr. Hansberry may have been the only prospective purchaser available.[4]

Lorraine reflects upon the litigation in her book To Be Young, Gifted, and Black:

"25 years ago, [my father] spent a small personal fortune, his considerable talents, and many years of his life fighting, in association with NAACP attorneys, Chicago’s ‘restrictive covenants’ in one of this nation's ugliest ghettos. That fight also required our family to occupy disputed property in a hellishly hostile ‘white neighborhood’ in which literally howling mobs surrounded our house… My memories of this ‘correct’ way of fighting white supremacy in America include being spat at, cursed and pummeled in the daily trek to and from school. And I also remember my desperate and courageous mother, patrolling our household all night with a loaded German Luger (pistol), doggedly guarding her four children, while my father fought the respectable part of the battle in the Washington court."

The Hansberry house, the red-brick three-flat at 6140 S. Rhodes in Washington Park that they bought in 1937, was given landmark status by the Chicago City Council's Committee on Historical Landmarks Preservation in 2010. [5]

Production and reception

Scene from the play. Ruby Dee as Ruth, Claudia McNeil as Lena, Glynn Turman as Travis, Sidney Poitier as Walter, and John Fiedler as Karl Lindner.
Scene from the play. Ruby Dee as Ruth, Claudia McNeil as Lena, Glynn Turman as Travis, Sidney Poitier as Walter, and John Fiedler as Karl Lindner.

With a cast in which all but one minor character is African-American, A Raisin in the Sun was considered to be a risky investment, and it took over a year for producer Philip Rose to raise enough money to launch the play.

After touring to positive reviews, the play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959. The play transferred to the Belasco Theatre on October 19, 1959 and closed on June 25, 1960 after 530 total performances. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the cast featured Sidney Poitier (Walter Lee Younger), Ruby Dee (Ruth Younger), Ivan Dixon (Joseph Asagai), Lonne Elder III (Bobo), John Fiedler (Karl Lindner), Louis Gossett (George Murchison), Claudia McNeil (Lena Younger) and Diana Sands (Beneatha Younger). Ossie Davis later played Walter Lee Younger.

Waiting for the curtain to rise on opening night, Hansberry and producer Rose did not expect the play to be a success, for it had already received mixed reviews from a preview audience the night before. Though it received popular and critical acclaim, reviewers argued about whether the play was "universal" or particular to African-American experiences.[6] The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959.

It was then produced on tour. 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.[7]

Hansberry noted that it introduced details of black life to the overwhelmingly white Broadway audiences, while director Richards observed that it was the first play to which large numbers of black people were drawn.[7] Frank Rich, in The New York Times stated that A Raisin in the Sun "changed American theater forever."[8]

In 1960 A Raisin In The Sun was nominated for four Tony Awards:

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 McNeil were nominated for Golden Globe Awards, and Petrie received a special "Gary Cooper Award" at the Cannes Film Festival.

1973 musical

Main article: Raisin (musical)

A musical version of the play, Raisin, ran on Broadway from October 18, 1973 to December 7, 1975. The book of the musical, which stayed close to the play, was written by Hansberry's former husband, Robert Nemiroff. Music and lyrics were by Judd Woldin and Robert Brittan. The cast included Joe Morton (Walter Lee), Virginia Capers (Momma), Ernestine Jackson (Ruth), Debbie Allen (Beneatha) and Ralph Carter (Travis, the Youngers' young son). The show won the Tony Award for Best musical.

1989 TV film

In 1989 the play was adapted into a TV film for PBS' American Playhouse series, starring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle. This production received three Emmy Award nominations, but all were for technical categories. Bill Duke directed the production, while Chiz Schultz produced the production, which also featured Starletta DuPois and John Fiedler, who had starred in the original Broadway production and the 1961 film version. This production was based on an off-Broadway revival produced by the Roundabout Theatre.

The cast included Danny Glover (Walter Lee), Starletta DuPois (Ruth), Esther Rolle (Mama), and Kim Yancey (Beneatha).

Broadway revival, 2004

A revival ran on Broadway at the Royale Theatre from April 26, 2004 to July 11, 2004[9] at the Royale Theatre with the following cast:

The director was Kenny Leon with David Binder and Vivek Tiwary producers.

The play won two 2004 Tony Awards: Best Actress in a Play (Phylicia Rashad) and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Audra McDonald), and was nominated for Best Revival of a Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Sanaa Lathan).

Broadway revival, 2014

A second revival ran on Broadway from April 3, 2014 to June 15, 2014 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.[10][11] The play won three 2014 Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Sophie Okonedo) and Best Direction of a Play (Kenny Leon).[12]

2008 TV film

In 2008, Sean Combs (P. Diddy) and Audra McDonald starred in a television film directed by Kenny Leon. The film debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast by ABC on February 25, 2008. McDonald received an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Ruth.[13] According to Nielsen Media Research, the program was watched by 12.7 million viewers and ranked #9 in the ratings for the week ending March 2, 2008.[14]

The Raisin Cycle

The 2010 Bruce Norris play Clybourne Park depicts the white family that sold the house to the Youngers. The first act takes place just after the events of A Raisin in the Sun; the second act takes place 50 years later.[15]

The 2013 play by Kwame Kwei-Armah entitled Beneatha's Place follows Beneatha after she leaves with Asagai to Nigeria, and instead of becoming a doctor, she becomes the Dean of Social Sciences at a respected and unnamed California University.[16]

The two above plays are often referred to as "The Raisin Cycle" and were produced by Baltimore's Center Stage in the 2012-2013 season.[17] (The entire trilogy of plays, including A Raisin in The Sun, may also be referred to as "The Raisin Cycle.")

Cultural References

Season 1, Episode 3 of Strangers with Candy is based around a school production of A Raisin in the Sun, and features an excerpt from the 1961 movie as well as Stephen Colbert reciting "A Dream Deferred" just before the closing credits.

References

  1. ↑ Internet Broadway Database. "A Raisin in the Sun | Ethel Barrymore Theatre (3/11/1959 - 10/17/1959)". IBDB. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  2. ↑ "A Dream Deferred (by Langston Hughes)". Cswnet.com. 1996-06-25. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  3. ↑ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/hughes-transcript.html
  4. ↑ Kamp, Allen R. "The History Behind Hansberry v. Lee," 20 U.S. Davis L. Rev. 481 (1987).
  5. ↑ "Lorraine Hansberry House". Chicago Landmarks. City of Chicago. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Robin Bernstein, "Inventing a Fishbowl: White Supremacy and the Critical Reception of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun", Modern Drama 42(1): 16-27.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Corley, Cheryl, "'A Raisin in the Sun', Present at the Creation", National Public Radio, March 11, 2002.
  8. ↑ Rich, Frank, "Theater: 'Raisin in Sun,' Anniversary in Chicago", The New York Times, October 5, 1983.
  9. ↑ Internet Broadway Database. "A Raisin in the Sun | Royale Theatre (4/26/2004 - 7/11/2004)". IBDB. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  10. ↑ Playbill Vault. "A Raisin in the Sun". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  11. ↑ Gioia, Michael. "Tony-Winning Revival of 'A Raisin in the Sun' Plays Final Performance Tonight" playbill.com, June 15, 2014
  12. ↑ Purcell, Carey. "'Gent's Guide', 'All The Way', 'Hedwig And the Angry Inch', 'Raisin in the Sun 'Win Top Prizes at 68th Annual Tony Awards" playbill.com, June 8, 2014
  13. ↑ "Chenoweth, Dench, Linney, McDonald, Rashad Nominated for Emmy Awards". Playbill.
  14. ↑ Ginia Bellafante, "Raisin in the Sun: A Tale of Race and Family and a $10,000 Question", The New York Times, February 25, 2008.
  15. ↑ Brantley, Ben, "Good Defenses Make Good Neighbors," The New York Times, February 22, 2010.
  16. ↑ Paul Harris, Legit Review: ‘Beneatha’s Place’, http://variety.com/2013/legit/reviews/legit-review-beneathas-place-1200488433/
  17. ↑ David Zurawik, "Baltimore's Center Stage looks very good in PBS documentary on 'Raisin' cycle", "The Baltimore Sun", October 25, 2013, http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-10-25/entertainment/bal-baltimore-center-stage-pbs-raisin-cycle-20131018_1_sun-revisited-kwame-kwei-armah-raisin-cycle

External links

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