CR173
“A Raisin in the Sun” Playbill
1959 Sidney Poitier “A Raisin in the Sun” Playbill
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chicago, as they attempt to improve their financial circumstances with an insurance payout following the death of the father. The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959.
With a cast in which all but one character is black, A Raisin in the Sun was considered a risky investment, and it took over a year for producer Philip Rose to raise enough money to launch it. There was disagreement with how it should be played, with focus on the mother or focus on the son. When the play hit New York, Poitier played it with the focus on the son and found not only his calling but also an audience enthralled.
After touring to positive reviews, the play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959. It 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 comprised:
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
Diana Sands – Beneatha Younger
Glynn Turman – Travis Younger
Ed Hall – moving man
Douglas Turner – moving man
Ossie Davis later took over as Walter Lee Younger, and Frances Williams as Lena 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 won popular and critical acclaim, reviewers argued about whether the play was "universal" or particular to black experience.
A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first with a black director, Mr. Richards. Hansberry noted that her play 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. Frank Rich, writing in The New York Times in 1983, stated that A Raisin in the Sun "changed American theater forever." In 2016, Claire Brennan wrote in The Guardian that "The power and craft of the writing make A Raisin in the Sun as moving today as it was then." 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. Cogan
Best Actor in Play – Sidney Poitier
Best Actress in a Play – Claudia McNeil
Best Direction of a Play – Lloyd Richards
With a cast in which all but one character is black, A Raisin in the Sun was considered a risky investment, and it took over a year for producer Philip Rose to raise enough money to launch it. There was disagreement with how it should be played, with focus on the mother or focus on the son. When the play hit New York, Poitier played it with the focus on the son and found not only his calling but also an audience enthralled.
After touring to positive reviews, the play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959. It 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 comprised:
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
Diana Sands – Beneatha Younger
Glynn Turman – Travis Younger
Ed Hall – moving man
Douglas Turner – moving man
Ossie Davis later took over as Walter Lee Younger, and Frances Williams as Lena 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 won popular and critical acclaim, reviewers argued about whether the play was "universal" or particular to black experience.
A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, as well as the first with a black director, Mr. Richards. Hansberry noted that her play 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. Frank Rich, writing in The New York Times in 1983, stated that A Raisin in the Sun "changed American theater forever." In 2016, Claire Brennan wrote in The Guardian that "The power and craft of the writing make A Raisin in the Sun as moving today as it was then." 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. Cogan
Best Actor in Play – Sidney Poitier
Best Actress in a Play – Claudia McNeil
Best Direction of a Play – Lloyd Richards
