Lorraine Hansberry News

The Morrisson Theatre Chorus, under the musical direction of Cesar Cancino, will present its Holiday Concert: Special Songs for a Special Time of the Year:  on December 15, 16 and 17 at 8:00pm and December 18 at 2:00pm. 

On Wednesday, November 16 at 4:30 PM, a Sidewalk Signing and Honors Ceremony will be held onstage at Theater 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Marks Place. 

With great excitement and anticipation, Seattle Repertory Theatre announces 11 projects for its nationally respected new work series, The Other Season, with additional projects to be revealed.

The Central Works 2016 Season closing production of Karen Zacarias' a new play Into the Beautiful North, has extended and must close November 20 (originally scheduled to close Nov. 13). Central Works' first partnership with the National New Play Network was met with a tremendous response from the press and audiences alike. Described at its premiere as possessing the "alchemy of inspired satire, turned into a laugh-filled theatrical experience" and "never allowing the humor to blind us to the plight of its characters...".  Into the Beautiful North is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea and inspired by the classic Hollywood western The Magnificent Seven.

To launch its 50th anniversary season, The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) will revisit its very first production, 'Day of Absence' (1966) by Douglas Turner Ward, with an eight-performance run December 4-11 at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Mark's Place. The season will include three more productions at Theatre 80 St. Marks and one at La MaMa.

To launch its 50th anniversary season, The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) will revisit its very first production, 'Day of Absence' (1966) by Douglas Turner Ward, with an eight-performance run December 4-11 at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Mark's Place.  The season will include three more productions at Theatre 80 St. Marks and one at La MaMa.

Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) presents their 16th season featuring two new works and one musical revival, which both tackle social issues including homelessness, immigration and race relations. 'We have a thrilling line up as we enter our 16th season at Astoria Performing Arts Center, and all of the work shares the resonant theme of home.

Hot on the heels of the record-breaking, critically hailed Satchmo at the Waldorf, Mosaic Theater Company of DC's Season Two continues with Kirsten Greenidge's riotous, Obie Award-winning MILK LIKE SUGAR (November 2 - 27, 2016), under the direction of Mosaic Theater's Jennifer L. Nelson (The Gospel of Lovingkindness). The play, Mosaic's second DC premiere this season, is a rousing story about young women coming of age in a time when issues of acceptance, mentorship, and materialism challenge the dreams and ambitious of so many teens. It is the first of three plays in Mosaic's 2016-17 season to highlight issues affecting young urban teens and millennials, to be followed by the DC premiere of Philip Dawkins' intergenerational LGBTQ comedy Charm, and the world premiere of Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.),Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and FaultLine Theater announced today a series of events celebrating Every 28 Hours, a series of one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement from 90 contributing artists. A.C.T. and Berkeley Repertory Theatre will present two one-day festivals, including excerpts from Every 28 Hours and performances by local artists, on October 18 and 19, 2016. Faultline Theater-in collaboration with A.C.T., Campo Santo, Crowded Fire Theater, and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre-will produce a full production of Every 28 Hours October 21-November 12, 2016. All performances are free and open to the public. Each event will be followed by discussions led by local activists and artists.

The Central Works 2016 Season closes with Into the Beautiful North, a new play by Karen Zacarias opening Today October 15 in the historic Berkeley City Club. This production marks CW's first partnership with the National New Play Network for this Rolling World Premiere. Into the Beautiful North is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea and inspired by the classic Hollywood western The Magnificent Seven.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the world premiere production of The Last Tiger in Haiti by playwright Jeff Augustin and directed by Joshua Kahan Brody. A co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, where the play had its world premiere in June, The Last Tiger in Haiti begins previews Today, October 14 and the show runs through Sunday, November 27. Individual tickets start at $29 and can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org or by phone, 510 647-2949. Press night will be on Today, October 21.

Park Square continues its 42nd season on the Andy Boss Thrust Stage with Lorraine Hansberry's classic and timely A Raisin in the Sun. This fiercely moving portrait of a family living and dreaming on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The Washington Post hails it as "one of a handful of great American plays - it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Glass Menagerie."

The Belgrade Theatre has picked up a prestigious UK Theatre award for the Promotion of Diversity at a glittering awards ceremony held at London's Guildhall on Sunday 9th October.

Hot on the heels of the record-breaking, critically hailed Satchmo at the Waldorf, Mosaic Theater Company of DC's Season Two continues with Kirsten Greenidge's riotous, Obie Award-winning MILK LIKE SUGAR (November 2 - 27, 2016), under the direction of Mosaic Theater's Jennifer L. Nelson (The Gospel of Lovingkindness). The play, Mosaic's second DC premiere this season, is a rousing story about young women coming of age in a time when issues of acceptance, mentorship, and materialism challenge the dreams and ambitious of so many teens. It is the first of three plays in Mosaic's 2016-17 season to highlight issues affecting young urban teens and millennials, to be followed by the DC premiere of Philip Dawkins' intergenerational LGBTQ comedy Charm, and the world premiere of Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies.

There are certain plays out there that remain enduring classics. Maybe they're just that good. Or maybe they still pack a punch all these years later and resonate with attitudes of today. Well the Seattle Rep is presenting one on those classics with Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and while it falls firmly into that first category of "just that good" unfortunately watching it last night I also felt how far we have and haven't come since it debuted in 1959 as many of the themes of inequality and prejudice on display are still all too prevalent today.

Seattle Repertory Theatre presents A Raisin in the Sun, a classic Lorraine Hansberry's drama, directed by Timothy McCuen Piggee. A Raisin in the Sun is currently running thru October 30, 2016 in the Bagley Wright Theatre. Tickets are on sale now through the Seattle Rep Box Office at (206) 443-2222 and online at seattlerep.org.  BroadwayWorld brings you a sneak peek at the making of the show below!

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, is pleased to present the 15th annual National Showcase of New Plays (NSNP).

Aurora Theatre Company presents the West Coast Premiere of Keith Josef Adkins'SAFE HOUSE. African-American Shakespeare Company Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, who appeared in the Aurora Theatre Company productions of "Master Harold…and the boys," Breakfast With Mugabe, The Soldier's Tale, and Permanent Collection, makes his Aurora directing debut with SAFE HOUSE, featuring Lance Gardner, David Everett Moore, Dawn L. Troupe, Cassidy Brown, Jamella Lagara Cross, and Dezi Soley. SAFE HOUSE plays November 4 through December 4at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

The Central Works 2016 Season closes with Into the Beautiful North, a new play by Karen Zacarias opening Saturday October 15 in the historic Berkeley City Club. This production marks CW's first partnership with the National New Play Network for this Rolling World Premiere. Into the Beautiful North is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Alberto Urrea and inspired by the classic Hollywood western The Magnificent Seven.

In Lorraine Hansberry's classic, which inspired Seattle Rep's recent production of Clybourne Park, African American Lena Younger lives with her extended family in a cramped apartment on Chicago's South Side. On their unknowing behalf, she places a down payment on a home in Clybourne Park-an affordable white neighborhood. Racial intolerance attempts to derail the family's dreams in this 1959 masterpiece, which 'changed American theater forever' (New York Times) and continues to resonate with generation after generation.