A RAISIN IN THE SUN Broadway Revival with Denzel Washington Begins Previews Tomorrow

Previews begin tomorrow night, Saturday, March 8, at 8pm for the return to Broadway of Tony Award-winner and two-time Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington starring as Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. This new production begins previews nearly 55 years to the day that A Raisin in the Sun had its Broadway premiere (March 11, 1959) at the same theatre, the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). Opening night for A Raisin in the Sun is Thursday, April 3 at 6:45pm. The 14-week limited engagement runs through Sunday, June 15.

The production also stars LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Lena Younger, Academy Award-nominee Sophie Okonedo making her Broadway debut as Ruth Younger, Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose as Beneatha Younger, Tony Award-nominee Stephen McKinley Henderson as Bobo, David Cromer as Karl Lindner, Jason Dirden as George Murchison, Sean Patrick Thomas as Joseph Asagai, and 13-year-old Bryce Clyde Jenkins, making his Broadway debut, as Travis Younger. Sophie Okonedo is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.

Originally produced in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, where it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. The Washington Post has called it "one of a handful of great American plays - it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey into Night." The New York Times has hailed it as "the play that changed American theatre forever."

Set on Chicago's South Side, A Raisin in the Sun revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN has scenic design by Mark Thompson, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN is produced by Scott Rudin.