Lorraine Hansberry's literary classic A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway nearly 58 years ago on March 11, 1959. Raisin
was the first play written by a black woman to appear on Broadway and
it paved the way for future work by black playwrights, directors and
theatre artists to be seen on the Great White Way. This play garnered
its name from Langston Hughes' poem Harlem and like the poem it focuses on African American life in the United States during the 1950's. Raisin specifically focuses on the Younger family living in a small two-bedroom apartment in Chicago's south side. In Raisin
the primary struggle exists between the central character, Walter Lee
and the rest of his family. Although they all have a similar goal of
wanting a better life for themselves and their family, the means by
which they believe this goal will be realized is very different. The
theme of rising out of one's situation is pervasive and still a common
struggle for many, but this theme is not the only reason why Hansberry's
play has had such a lasting legacy.
The impact of Hansberry's
story was so powerful that two playwrights wrote plays of their own that
offer more insight into the life of the Younger family following the
events of A Raisin in the Sun. These plays are Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris and Beneatha's Place by Kwame Kwei-Armah.
Clybourne Park
premiered in 2010 at Playwrights Horizon in New York City and went on
to win the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama and the 2012 Tony Award
for Best Play. Act one of this play takes place shortly after the events in A Raisin in the Sun. It begins with Raisin's
supporting character, Karl Linder pleading to his neighbor not to sell
his home - the home that the Younger family intends to move into. Linder
is afraid that property values will decline if a black family moves
into their neighborhood. The second act is set in 2009 and Clybourne
Park has become a predominantly black neighborhood facing
gentrification. This act focuses on a white couple, one of which is the
daughter of Karl Linder, who are attempting to buy and rebuild the home
at larger scale and for a larger profit. Throughout the act they are
negotiating housing regulations with a black couple, one of which is a
descendant of Younger family. Conversation over housing codes soon
erupts into racial issues after this 50 year struggle is revisited in
Norris' modern drama.
Kwei-Armah extends the legacy of Raisin and the conversations ignited by Clybourne Park in his play Beneatha's Place. This play premiered as part of Center Stage Theatre's 50th season in Baltimore, Maryland. Beneatha's Place was performed alongside Clybourne Park in the season to put the work in context and further the discussions raised by Clybourne Park.
With the pairing of these two plays and their relations to Lorraine
Hansberry's original script they've respectively been called The Raisin
Cycle.
Like Norris' play Beneatha's Place
begins in 1959, but instead of being set in Chicago this play takes
place in Lagos, Nigeria. Beneatha has married Joseph Asagai and they've
moved to Nigeria where she plans to pursue her medical career and Asagai
is serving as a leader in the fight for Nigerian independence. The
second act is closer to present day, Beneatha is much older and we learn
that she is the Dean of Social Sciences at California University. Her
department is considering dropping African American Studies for
Whiteness Studies which examines the place of White Privilege in
society. Three white professors including the head of African American
Studies and a black assistant professor join Beneatha in her old
Nigerian home to hold this important discussion. Formalities are dropped
and true feelings emerge over a heated first world discussion happening
in a third world country.
A Raisin in the Sun is
considered to be one of the hallmarks of American Theatre. Its story and
themes have proven to be timeless and inspirational to countless
audience members over the years. With the creation of The Raisin Cycle
it has allowed Hansberry's original play to be introduced to a new
generation of audiences, while also bringing new conversations into
community dialogue over issues that did not exist or were not as
relevant during the 1950's.
In 2017, where political leaders
threaten to erect barriers to keep others and their differences out,
when a movement known as 'Black Lives Matter' is no longer new, but an
established force and where hate crimes targeted specifically to the
black community have occurred on our very own campus, we are PROUD to be
producing this play. This play and its central message are timeless and
even concerning in terms of how truly relevant they still are today. Lorraine
Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun takes the stage Feb. 8-12, we truly hope to see you at the show. 
