Each act takes place in the same house and involves an attempt to sell the property. The first act takes place in 1959, focusing on the area before A Raisin in the Sun premiered and the second act takes place fifty years later. 311 US 32 (1940) was heard by the Supreme Court and the restrictions against blacks were defeated.Īnother interesting play to consider in connection with A Raisin in the Sun is Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (2011 Pulitzer Prize and 2012 Tony Best Play), which also combines history and fiction, looking at event in a neighborhood based on the one into which the Hansberry family moved. Carl Hansberry took the issue to court, claiming protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Hansberry’s moved in the neighborhood protested vehemently. Carl Hansberry, the playwright’s father, who was a successful real estate developer, had purchased a property in the racially restricted neighborhood from James Burke. The play is based on the life of Lorraine Hansberry and their fight to break racially restrictive covenants in the white Chicago neighborhood of Washington Park. It’s interesting to consider A Raisin in the Sun in connection with history.

History and Fiction The play finds its inspiration from Hansberry’s own life. There’s plenty of opportunity to access this show and utilize actor and director choices and interpretations in discussions. Also, there will be another Broadway revival in March 2014 starring Denzel Washington and Diahann Carroll. Along with a rich script, the 1961 motion picture and the 2008 TV-movie, which stars the cast from the 2004 Broadway revival, are both available for views. A Raisin in the Sun and the Classroom The TV movie offers keen insights.Ī Raisin in the Sun, which is commonly read by high school students, offers numerous opportunities for interesting and insightful classroom experiences. Hansberry and Richards were both nominated for Tonys. It marked the first time a black woman had a drama on the Broadway stage and the first time a black director, Lloyd Richards, work on a Broadway play. It was a play for which producers felt there would be no audience and on opening night both Hansberry and producer Phillip Rose felt the play would be a failure as it had received such a cold reaction the night before.īut A Raison in the Sun was a critical and popular success, receiving four Tony nominations, running for almost two years, and being made into a successful film with the entire original cast. To the surprise of many, the play became a huge success, earning four Tony nominations, the New York Critic’s Circle Award for Best play, and running for two years. A Raisin in the Sun premiered on Broadway on March 11, 1959.

A raisin in the sun full play