A Raisin in the Sun at Middletown Arts Center

The Middletown Arts Center, in conjunction with Dunbar Repertory Company, presents the ground-breaking, American classic, A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, Sr., February 14 – 22, 2026. The landmark 1959 play by Lorraine Hansberry explores the divergent dreams and struggles of three generations of the Younger family on Chicago’s South Side.

SHOW DATES FOR A RAISIN IN THE SUN

Saturday, February 14 at 3 + 8 p.m. | Sunday, February 15 at 4 p.m.

Saturday, February 21 at 3 + 8 p.m.* | Sunday, February 22 at 4 p.m.

Ticket prices are $22 and are general admission. A special discounted ticket price of $15 will be offered for the Valentine’s Day Performances (Saturday, February 14, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.). Group ticket sales (10 or more) are also available for $17 per ticket. Purchase tickets online at middletownarts.org or call the MAC Box Office at 732.706.4100. The Middletown Arts Center is located at 36 Church Street in Middletown, NJ (next to the Middletown train station). Free parking is available onsite, with additional free parking available in the station’s metered lot on weekday evenings after 6 p.m. and on weekends.

ABOUT A RAISIN IN THE SUN

Set on Chicago’s South Side, Lorraine Hansberry’s celebrated play concerns the divergent dreams and conflicts in three generations of the Younger family: Son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena. When her deceased husband’s insurance money comes through, Mama Lena 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. Hansberry’s portrait of one family’s struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.

Dunbar Repertory Company’s production features Octavia Harrell (Lena Younger), Damien S. Berger (Walter Lee Younger), Lucia Williams (Beneatha Younger), Vivette Alston (Ruth Younger), Kian Cooper (Travis Younger), Clayton Simmons (Travis Younger), Malik Abdul Khaaliq (Joseph Asagai), Mike Vails (George Murchison), Bellamy Shivers (Bobo), Martin Cordero (Bobo), Carl Hoffman (Karl Lindner), Doris Dollard (Mrs. Johnson) and Takia Clayton (Mrs. Johnson).

ABOUT LORRAINE HANSBERRY

Lorraine Hansberry (1930–1965) was a visionary playwright, activist, and public intellectual whose work fundamentally reshaped American drama. She made history in 1959 when her seminal play, A Raisin in the Sun, premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, making her the first African American woman to have a play produced on Broadway. At age 29, she became the youngest person and the first Black playwright to win the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.

Born on Chicago’s South Side, Hansberry was raised in a politically active household that directly confronted segregation. Her family’s legal challenge against restrictive housing covenants reached the U.S. Supreme Court as Hansberry v. Lee (1940), a landmark victory that served as a central inspiration for her writing.

After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Hansberry moved to New York City in 1950 to join the staff of the Pan-Africanist newspaper Freedom, where she worked alongside Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois. Throughout her career, she fearlessly advocated for racial equality, feminism, and LGBTQ+ rights, often using her platform to link global liberation movements with domestic struggles for justice.

Hansberry’s second Broadway production, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (1964), explored intellectualism and social commitment. Although her life was cut short by pancreatic cancer at age 34, her legacy was further cemented by posthumous works such as To Be Young, Gifted and Black and Les Blancs. Her profound commitment to justice famously inspired Nina Simone to write the anthem “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” in her honor.

ABOUT THE DUNBAR REPERTORY COMPANY

Known to residents of Central New Jersey as “Monmouth County’s African American Theater Company”, Dunbar Repertory Company is committed to its mission of perpetuating an appreciation of cultural diversity and celebrating African American culture through LIVE literary readings, main stage theatrical productions, education programs and services.