THEATRICAL THROWBACK THURSDAY: A RAISIN IN THE SUN Breaks Ground On Broadway

By: Mar. 12, 2015
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Today we are revisiting a groundbreaking play that premiered this week in 1959.

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Very few plays can lay claim to changing the general public's perception of what theatre can be, yet Lorraine Hansberry's legendary drama A RAISIN IN THE SUN did precisely that when it opened on the Great White Way back on March 11, 1959. Presenting the timely tale of a Chicago family facing a new era of civil rights while dealing with financial woes, housing issues and addiction while depicting the various interpersonal relationships of the central clan, Hansberry imbued the enterprise with poetry, heart, humor, import and timely relevance. To say that A RAISIN IN THE SUN changed the Broadway landscape in a remarkable way would be a vast understatement - indeed, the play is an elemental thread in the historical tapestry of Broadway for not only being one of the first African American-centric plays to receive nationwide acclaim and attention for its applicability to the time at which it premiered, but also for acting as a precurso to the masterpieces of subsequent great theatre artists with similarly important race-related themed in the following decades such as Ntozake Shange, George C. Wolfe, Susan Lori-Parks, Amiri Baraka and August Wilson.

Of course, Langston Hughes was a major inspiration for Hansberry herself - his own quote from the seminal poem "Harlem" aka "A Dream Deferred" is the basis for the title - and A RAISIN IN THE SUN is a logical extension of the barrier-breaking and progressive art that Hughes created and presented over the course of his lauded and ever-resounding career. Inspired by her own family's notable experiences dealing with racial integration on the south side of Chicago as well as the vociferous and oftentimes violent treatment suffered by minorities at the time - particularly African Americans - Hansberry passionately and provocatively presented the actual reality of the era for many in a manner that could be easily understood and perceived by all audiences of all races. A masterful feat in and of itself.

The original Broadway production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN began as a tour produced by famed impresario Philip Rose, who spent more than a year garnering the funds necessary to proceed with a mainstage production. Once the production budget had been secured, Rose sought to tour the show throughout the United States before eventually opening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in 1959. Lloyd Richards helmed the premiere mounting of the drama, outfitting the cast with several major names who would go on to success in film and television, as well - headlined by the one and only Sidney Poitier along with Ruby Dee, Ivan Dixon, Lonne Elder III, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett, Claudia McNeil and Diana Sands. A notable replacement later in the run for Poitier was fellow notable Ossie Davis, as well. Eventually, the production transferred to the Belasco Theatre where it played out the rest of its estimable 530-performance run.

Most importantly, though, A RAISIN IN THE SUN solidly succeeded in what it set out to do most of all - inciting discussion about race. Some at the time argued that the play was too race-specific and aimed primarily at a black audience, while others claimed it was a universal story wholly applicable to all. Historically, A RAISIN IN THE SUN is a major part of theatre history for not only being the first play presented on Broadway by a black director, but also the first play by a black woman to appear there. The play received four Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, Best Direction Of A Play, Best Actor and Best Actress, while it went on to win the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Additionally, a 1961 film version followed with most of the original cast, and a 1973 musical version titled RAISIN eventually went on to take home Best Musical. In this century, two Broadway revivals have received attention and awards, as well - one in 2004 led by Sean Combs and another in 2014 featuring Denzel Washington.

See the original cast of A RAISIN IN THE SUN reprise their roles on film in the trailer for the acclaimed 1961 feature film.

So, how do you view A RAISIN IN THE SUN in the great pantheon of progressive and game-changing entertainment seen on Broadway? Furthermore, what has been your favorite production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN to date? With a play this powerful and a message this important and so compellingly told, we are no doubt destined to enjoy many more revivals of this masterpiece for many decades to come.



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