Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun has come to Astor Place this fall in her Public Theater debut. Directed by Tony Award nominee Robert O’Hara, this fresh look at a classic proves to be as provocative and powerful today as it was in 1959.
In its history, A Raisin in the Sun has only been revived in New York City three times before now; the last off-Broadway rendition was 35 years ago. When approaching this new production for The Public Theater, O’Hara focused on the entire ensemble of characters to explore the play’s most pressing ideas.
“I’m interested in centralizing the women and their dreams in this play,” O’Hara said. “It’s always struck me as very odd that a play written by a Black queer woman set in a home with three strong Black women has somehow come to be known as a play about a man, and his deferred dreams.”
His directorial vision also explores Lorraine Hansberry’s own legacy in the production and her impact on theater, both past and present.
Directing this play now and at a venerable Off-Broadway institution of new and classic work like The Public Theater allows me to open up the play to a new audience. I think now is the perfect time for us to fully acknowledge Hansberry’s queerness and openly celebrate the audacity of the female characters she created in this play written over half a century ago.
Robert O’Hara
A Raisin in the Sun follows Lena Younger, who has decided to use her late husband’s life insurance to move her family out of their cramped apartment on Chicago’s South Side. Her son, Walter Lee, has other ideas.
For more information about the production and to purchase tickets, visit publictheater.org.
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