The Evolution of A Raisin in the Sun, from Dream Deferred to Broadway Masterpiece

Writing for Broadway.com, Lindsay Champion shares background on Lorraine Hansberry, how she came to write A Raisin in the Sun, and Hansberry’s legacy to American letters. In addition, Champion provides images and discussion of the 1959 original production at the Barrymore Theater, the 25^th anniversary production at the Roundabout Theater, the 2004 Broadway revival, and the current 2014 Broadway revival once again at the Barrymore Theater.

The Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun opened on April 3 at the Barrymore Theater. Directed by Kenny Leon, the show will play a limited engagement through June 15. Joining two-time Oscar and Tony winner Denzel Washington in the cast are LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Mama), Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (Ruth), Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (Beneatha), Tony nominee Stephen McKinley Henderson (Bobo), David Cromer (Karl Linder), Jason Dirden (George Murchison), Sean Patrick Thomas (Asagai), and Bryce Clyde Jenkins (Travis).

Originally produced in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, where it won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. 

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