A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun is a play from
1959 by
Lorraine Hansberry. It is the story of the Younger family, based on 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. The title comes from a poem by
Langston Hughes.
The play concerns the working-class Younger family, who dream of leaving behind the dilapidated tenement apartment where they have lived for decades. 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 portroyed through the tight quarters as five people are squeezed together onstage into a one room apartment.
In
1961,
A Raisin in the Sun was adapted into a
feature film starring its first-run Broadway cast of
Sidney Poitier,
Ruby Dee,
Roy Glenn and
Claudia McNeil.
In
1973, the play was turned into an acclaimed musical,
Raisin.
In
1989, it was adapted into a
made for TV movie starring
Danny Glover and
Esther Rolle, who won an
Emmy Award for her role.
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 the well publicized performance of
Sean "Diddy" Combs. The show recouped quickly and became the second highest grossing play in Broadway history. The production was noted for attracting a diverse audience and repeatedly breaking ticket sale records at the Royale.
In at least one printed version of the play, Walter's line "Why all you college boys wear them faggoty-looking white shoes?" has "funny" substituted for "faggoty".
[Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Elements of Literature: Fifth Course.]Spike Lee's
1994 film
Crooklyn is heavily influenced by
A Raisin in the Sun.
*
GradeSaver study guide: A Raisin in the Sun*
ISU Play Concordances: A Raisin in the Sun
