A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry ( May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was an African American LGBT Playwright and Author Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located The story is based upon a family's own experiences growing up in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Demographics In the 1990 census Woodlawn had twenty seven thousand individuals living in ten thousand households 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 term black people usually refers to a racial group of Humans with dark Skin color, but the term has also been used to categorise a number of diverse Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Lloyd George Richards ( June 29 1919 – June 29 2006) was a Canadian - American Theatre director, Actor
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Introduction
The title comes from the opening lines of "Harlem", a poem by Langston Hughes ("What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?") Throughout the play, the idea of deferred dreams is a prominent theme, as each member of the Younger family attempts to find his or her place amidst a number of difficult situations. Langston Hughes (February 1 1902 &ndash May 22 1967 was an American Poet, Novelist Playwright, Short story writer and Columnist Dreams are the images sounds thoughts and feelings experienced while Sleeping, particularly strongly associated with Rapid eye movement sleep.
With a cast in which all but one are African-Americans, 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. Philip Rose (born July 4, 1921 in New York) is a Broadway theatrical producer of such productions as A Raisin in the Sun After touring to positive reviews, it premiered on Broadway on March 11, 1959, to enthusiastic reviews. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959, and it ran for nearly two years and was produced on tour. The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of twenty-two Drama Critics from daily Newspapers, Magazines and Wire services 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 blacks were drawn. [1] The New York Times stated that A 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. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented Lorraine Hansberry ( May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was an African American LGBT Playwright and Author 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
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
Plot
The play is about the Younger Family, as they dream of leaving behind the run-down ugly, two room looking apartment where they have lived since Ruth and Walter were married. Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Claudia McNeil (born August 13 1917 - died November 25 1993 was an actress best known for premiering the role of Matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of Lloyd George Richards ( June 29 1919 – June 29 2006) was a Canadian - American Theatre director, Actor Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Claudia McNeil (born August 13 1917 - died November 25 1993 was an actress best known for premiering the role of Matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an American Actress, Poet, Playwright, Screenwriter, Journalist Diana Sands ( August 22, 1934 - September 2, 1973) was an African-American dramatic actress perhaps most famous for her portrayal Ivan Dixon ( April 6 1931 - March 16 2008) was an African American Actor and Television director, best known Glynn Turman (born January 31, 1946 in New York New York) is an Emmy-award winning stage television and film actor as well as a writer director John Donald Fiedler ( February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American Voice actor and Character actor Lonne Elder III (December 26 1927 &ndash June 11 1996 was an American Actor, Playwright and Screenwriter. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr (born May 27 1936) is an American Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award winning Actor Lorraine Hansberry ( May 19, 1930 - January 12, 1965) was an African American LGBT Playwright and Author Lloyd George Richards ( June 29 1919 – June 29 2006) was a Canadian - American Theatre director, Actor The father, Walter, had big dreams of making a fortune by investing in a liquor store but foolishly gives his money to a con-artist. His sister, Beneatha, a college student, tries to find her identity and embraces the Back-to-Africa philosophy of a Nigerian friend, Joseph Asagai. The Grandma, mother of Beneatha and Walter, is Lena. She shares Ruth's dreams of buying a house, and does so with money from her dead husband's insurance policy, but the house is in an all white neighborhood. Their racist future neighbors send one of their members, a man named Karl Lindner to try to buy them out and prevent the neighborhood's integration. Walter Lee, having been swindled, initially contemplates taking the money, but ultimately refuses to be intimidated or bought out.
Litigation
The experiences in this play echo a lawsuit Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U. S. 32 (1940), to which the Hansberry family was a party when they 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 similar 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 Amendment. The Hansberry case was not bound by the Burke decision because the class of defendants in the respective cases had conflicting goals.
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. [3]
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 [L]uger [pistol], doggedly guarding her four children, while my father fought the respectable part of the battle in the Washington court. "
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. A Raisin in the Sun is a 1961 Drama film starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and A Raisin in the Sun is a 1961 Drama film starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE (ˈpwɑːtie born February 20, 1927) is an Oscar - Golden Globe - BAFTA - and Grammy Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an American Actress, Poet, Playwright, Screenwriter, Journalist Claudia McNeil (born August 13 1917 - died November 25 1993 was an actress best known for premiering the role of Matriarch Lena Younger in both the stage and screen productions of Diana Sands ( August 22, 1934 - September 2, 1973) was an African-American dramatic actress perhaps most famous for her portrayal Ivan Dixon ( April 6 1931 - March 16 2008) was an African American Actor and Television director, best known Louis Cameron Gossett Jr (born May 27 1936) is an American Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award winning Actor John Donald Fiedler ( February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American Voice actor and Character actor Hansberry wrote the screenplay, and the film was directed by Daniel Petrie. Daniel M Petrie ( November 26, 1920, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada - August 22, 2004, Los Angeles California It was released by Columbia Pictures and Ruby Dee won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor Both Poitier and MacNeil were nominated for Golden Globe Awards, and Petrie received a special "Gary Cooper Award" at the Cannes Film Festival. The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and Television programs given out each year during a formal dinner The Cannes Film Festival (le Festival de Cannes founded in 1946 is one of the world's oldest most influential and prestigious Film festivals alongside Venice, However, the film received no Academy Award nominations. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.
It was not rated by the MPAA, 128 minutes long, and was filmed in black and white. Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts.
Musical
In 1973, the play was turned into a musical, Raisin. Raisin is a Musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, with songs by Judd Woldin and Raisin is a Musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, with songs by Judd Woldin and Hansberry's former husband, Robert Nemiroff, wrote the book of the musical. It won the 1974 Tony Award for Best Musical. This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical first awarded in 1949
TV Films
1989 Adaptation
In 1989 it was adapted into a made for TV movie starring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Danny Lebern Glover (born July 22 1946 is an American Actor, Film director, and Political activist. Esther Rolle ( November 8, 1920 &ndash November 17, 1998) was an American actress of stage and television This production received three Emmy Award nominations, but all were for technical categories. Bill Duke directed the production, while Chee Lee produced the production, which also featured Starletta DuPois and John Fiedler, who had starred in the original Broadway production and the 1961 film version. Bill Duke (born February 26, 1943) is an American Actor and Film director. John Donald Fiedler ( February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American Voice actor and Character actor This production was based on an off-Broadway revival produced by the Roundabout Theatre. The Roundabout Theatre Company is the largest Non-profit theatre company based in New York City.
The cast, along with their character names, for the 1989 production are as follows: Danny Glover as "Walter Lee," Starletta DuPois as "Ruth," Esther Rolle as "Mama," and Kim Yancey as "Beneatha. "
2008 Adaptation
Paula Boudreau, Alexandra Cheron, Elle Downs, Justin Martin, and John Stamos. A Raisin in the Sun is a 2008 Television movie directed by Kenny Leon. Elle Downs (pronounced "Ellie" (born April 27, 1973 in Toronto Ontario) is a Canadian actress who has appeared in film and television since John Phillip Stamos (ˈsteɪmoʊs born August 19 1963) is an Emmy Award -nominated American television / theatre actor This version of the play was directed by Kenny Leon. Kenny Leon is an African-American director notable for his work on Broadway and in regional theater
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
- ^ Kamp, Allen R. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) "The History Behind Hansberry v. Lee," 20 U. S. Davis L. Rev. 481 (1987)
External links
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