A Raisin in the Sun
Last updated
The story follows a black family on Chicago's south side as they try to improve their finances with an insurance payout after the father's death.[1] The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959.[1] Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun first appeared on a Broadway stage in 1959.[2]
Key facts and history
The play's title comes from Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem".[2] It was also the first Broadway play with a black director, Richards.[3] Producer Philip Rose took eighteen months to raise enough money to launch it.[4] Upon opening, the play won popular and critical acclaim, and the audience called for the author after multiple curtain calls.[5]
The play's experiences echo the lawsuit Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32 (1940), to which Lorraine Hansberry's father was a party.[6] In 2008, a television film starring Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald was broadcast by ABC.[7] A 2014 Broadway revival won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play.[8] Because the cast featured only one white character, investors saw the play as a financial gamble.[4]
Neither Hansberry nor producer Rose anticipated a hit after the preview audience gave mixed reactions.[3]
What the cited sources add
The BBC account states the play was hailed as a "pivotal play in the history of the American Black theatre".[9] The Independent notes the play was the first on Broadway written by a black woman.[10] According to the Time Out New York list, the play speaks to audiences of all races because its themes cut across ethnic and chronological divides.[11] The 2022 Off-Broadway revival emphasized the danger the Youngers face in moving to Clybourne Park, a notion written into the script by Hansberry.[12]
Hansberry biographer Imani Perry claimed that 2022 production was the "closest to Lorraine's vision that I have ever seen".[13][12] Tonya Pinkins stated that Hansberry had to soften the play's edges for it to be commercially successful.[13] The 2016 BBC radio production restored the character of Mrs. Johnson and scenes cut from the Broadway production.[14]
References
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The 40 best plays to read before you die", The Independent, 2019-08-18; "50 Best Plays of All Time: Comedies, Tragedies and Dramas Ranked", Time Out New York (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Internet Broadway Database, "A Raisin in the Sun | Ethel Barrymore Theatre (3/11/1959 – 10/17/1959)", IBDB; "A Dream Deferred (by Langston Hughes)", Cswnet.com, 1996-06-25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Corley, Cheryl, "'A Raisin in the Sun', Present at the Creation" , National Public Radio, March 11, 2002. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Poitier, "The Measure of a Man", Harper, 2000, p. 148–158 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bernstein, "Inventing a Fishbowl: White Supremacy and the Critical Reception of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun", Modern Drama, 1999, p. 16–27; Corley, Cheryl, "'A Raisin in the Sun', Present at the Creation" , National Public Radio, March 11, 2002.; McGreevy, "How Sidney Poitier Rewrote the Script for Black Actors in Hollywood" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kamp, Allen R. "The History Behind Hansberry v. Lee," 20 U.S. Davis L. Rev. 481 (1987). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Chenoweth, Dench, Linney, McDonald, Rashad Nominated for Emmy Awards", Playbill; Ginia Bellafante, "Raisin in the Sun: A Tale of Race and Family and a $10,000 Question" , The New York Times, February 25, 2008. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Playbill Vault, "A Raisin in the Sun", Playbill Vault; Gioia, Michael. "Tony-Winning Revival of 'A Raisin in the Sun' Plays Final Performance Tonight" playbill.com, June 15, 2014; 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 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- , BBC, January 31, 2016.. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
- "The 40 best plays to read before you die", The Independent, 2019-08-18. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- "50 Best Plays of All Time: Comedies, Tragedies and Dramas Ranked", Time Out New York. facts only, no text reused. timeout.com
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tran, "Everyone Has Missed the Point of A Raisin in the Sun, According to Tonya Pinkins", Playbill, 16 November 2022 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Tran, "Everyone Has Missed the Point of A Raisin in the Sun, According to Tonya Pinkins", Playbill, 16 November 2022. facts only, no text reused. playbill.com
- Wikipedia, "A Raisin in the Sun" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: , BBC, January 31, 2016. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article A Raisin in the Sun (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Plays & Drama
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: A Raisin in the Sun (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced