Lorraine Hansberry News

Donald Alsedek directs the follow-up to A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Open Stage of Harrisburg.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues the second half of its season with Tribes, a sophisticated and moving family drama by celebrated British playwright Nina Raine. Her profound and powerful new play became an award-winning hit in London and New York. Now renowned director Jonathan Moscone brings it to Berkeley Rep this April for its Bay Area premiere. Tribes follows Billy, a young man who was born deaf into a loquacious and highly opinionated academic family who raised him to lip-read and integrate into the hearing world. When he meets Sylvia - raised by Deaf parents and going deaf herself - Billy decides it's time to speak on his own terms and to be heard. Playing out in words, sign language, and sometimes mesmerizing silence, this penetrating drama examines familial love, notions of belonging, and the intersections of communication. Tribes began previews Friday, April 11, opens tonight, April 16, and closes on Sunday, May 11, 2014.

Hailed as 'flat-out funny!' by the Hollywood Reporter, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark makes its Baltimore/DC premiere at Everyman Theatre, running from today, April 16th through May 11th.

Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Vivienne Benesch Artistic Director and Sarah Clare Corporandy Managing Director, has announced programming for its 2014 season featuring Lorraine Hansberry's classic A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Ethan McSweeny (June 28-July 6), The May Queen, a world premiere by Molly Smith Metzler (July 18-27), directed by Vivienne Benesch, and Shakespeare's The Tempest (August 8-15), starring Lisa Harrow, directed by Jade King Carroll on the Bratton Theater Mainstage.

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun just opened last week at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). According to Deadline, the show will soon welcome some high profile guests- the Obamas. President Obama and the First Lady are set to attend tonight's performance 'if all goes to plan.'

Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues the second half of its season with Tribes, a sophisticated and moving family drama by celebrated British playwright Nina Raine. Her profound and powerful new play became an award-winning hit in London and New York. Now renowned director Jonathan Moscone brings it to Berkeley Rep this April for its Bay Area premiere. Tribes follows Billy, a young man who was born deaf into a loquacious and highly opinionated academic family who raised him to lip-read and integrate into the hearing world. When he meets Sylvia - raised by Deaf parents and going deaf herself - Billy decides it's time to speak on his own terms and to be heard. Playing out in words, sign language, and sometimes mesmerizing silence, this penetrating drama examines familial love, notions of belonging, and the intersections of communication. Tribes start previews tonight, April 11, opens on April 16, and closes on Sunday, May 11, 2014.

Marin Theatre Company, in association with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, will stage August Wilson's Fences, the 1950s entry into his Century Cycle (also known as his Pittsburgh Cycle) - a decade-by-decade exploration of the black experience in 20th century America. Directed by Derrick Sanders, the Pulitzer Prize and two-time Tony Award-winning play will feature veteran film and television actor Carl Lumbly as Troy Maxson, Steven Anthony Jones, the artistic director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, as Jim Bono and award-winning actor, playwright and director Margo Hall as Rose, as well as Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Eddy Ray Jackson as Cory, Adrian Roberts as Gabriel,Tyee Tilghman as Lyons and two Marin City youths - Jade Sweeney, who attends Willow Creek Academy, and Makaelah Bashir, Bayside Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy - splitting the role of Raynell. Scroll down for a first look at the stars!

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun just opened last week at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). 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. Check out highlights from the production below!

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was on hand for the opening night after party, where he got to chat with all of the show's stars right after the curtain went down. Join in all of the opening night excitement below!

The stars gathered last night to celebrate the opening night of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street). BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was there to chat with all of the celebrity guests before they took there seats inside of the Barrymore. Check out interviews with Samuel L. Jackson, Kenny Leon, Spike and Tonya Lee and more!

The stars gathered last night to celebrate the opening night of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street); the same theatre where the original production of A Raisin in the Sun opened 55 years ago. BroadwayWorld brings you complete photo coverage from the star-studded red carpet below!

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon, opened last night, April 3 at 6:45pm at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street); the same theatre where the original production of A Raisin in the Sun opened 55 years ago. A Raisin in the Sun is a limited engagement running through June 15. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out photos from the after party below!

Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon, opened last night, April 3 at 6:45pm at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street); the same theatre where the original production of A Raisin in the Sun opened 55 years ago. A Raisin in the Sun is a limited engagement running through June 15. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out photo's from the cast's first curtain call below!

If Kenny Leon would like to keep on mounting productions of Lorraine Hansberry's riveting classic every decade I'd be most happy to go see them all.

Looks like the writers of MURDER FOR TWO have another hit on their hands, and this one should be a real knockout. In the video below Joe and Kellen give you a sample of their new show, A RAISIN IN THE SUN. You know, 'cause they absolutely, totally wrote it.

Tony Award-winner and two-time Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington returns to Broadway tonight, April 3, starring as Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. This new production began 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 tonight, April 3 at 6:45pm. The 14-week limited engagement runs through Sunday, June 15.

Open Stage of Harrisburg continues its 28th season with the regional premiere of Bruce Norris' award-winning play, Clybourne Park, running from April 11 through May 3. Winner of a Tony Award for Best Play, the Olivier Award, the Evening Standard Award, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this cutting-edge, wickedly funny satire digs into the heart of race and real estate in the suburbs of Chicago. Inspired by historical events, the play begins in 1959 when a white couple sells their home to the neighborhood's first black family, and thus sparks controversy. Fifty years later, the house is again changing hands, this time to a young white couple moving into the now black community.

America-in-Play will present the premiere of A Time-Traveler's Trip to Niagra, Following the Bold Adventures and Strange Detours of an Unlikely Group of Travelers Across Time and America. Running May 3-18 at the Hudson Guild Theatre (441 West 26th Street), this unique comedy interweaves two journeys up the Hudson River: one by bus in 2014 and one by steamboat in 1828. From upper class Brits taking a tour of the Early Republic to a modern brother and sister taking a bus ride upstate to trace their roots, the two trips converge at the iconic and spectacular Niagara Falls and aim to investigate the relationship between the American landscape and identity while exploring ties between past and future. A unique 'Dime Museum' exploring Americana and the play will be open 30 minutes before each performance.

Lorraine Hansberry's A RAISIN IN THE SUN, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon, opens this Thursday, April 3 at 6:45pm at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street); the same theatre where the original production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN opened 55 years ago. A RAISIN IN THE SUN is a limited engagement running through June 15. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!

Hailed as 'flat-out funny!' by the Hollywood Reporter, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark makes its Baltimore/DC premiere at Everyman Theatre, running from April 16th through May 11th. Resident Company Member Dawn Ursula will play the title role of Vera Stark, alongside fellow Company Members Beth Hylton and Wil Love. Walter Dallas makes his Everyman directorial debut with the regional premiere.