With all the buzz around the current revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A RAISIN IN THE SUN there is very little left to say about this production that at this point hasn’t been said, other than the show is amazing, and everyone should see it. Besides that, however, because this is a review, I will highlight a few things that I believe are noteworthy.
Denzel Washington, obviously, is a big draw for this production, and is certainly worthy of the title role. His portrayal of Walter Lee Younger, the father struggling to support his family and rise up out of Chicago’s post WW II impoverished South Side is effortless. Looking at the cast as an ensemble, however, Washington’s performance seems to fade into the scenery. Not that his performance isn’t amazing, but the other members of the cast are simply that good as well. This cast works as a team and it shows.
Latanya Richardson Jackson as the energetic, excitable matriarch (Lena Younger) of the family is nothing short of perfect. She brings an uplifting tirelessness to an otherwise exhausted family as is evidenced in the opening scene by Sophie Okonedo who, as Walter Lee Younger’s wife Ruth, is simply making an honest wholehearted attempt to hold her fragile family together. In spite of Richardson’s portrayal of Lena as a pillar of strength, she adds a touch of earthiness to her character that allows the audience to experience the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship she has with Ruth.
The family faces the seemingly typical socioeconomic and racially-fueled challenges of most inner-city African American families in the period; however, there is an obvious desire to move forward and, in spite of the exhaustion that emanates from their efforts, hope is never lost on the Younger family. Lena is determined that they shall overcome. Even Walter, in his own missteps, is determined that his family will have a better life.
Thirteen-year-old Bryce Clyde Jenkins makes his Broadway debut in A RAISIN IN THE SUN as the youngest of the family, Travis Younger. This won’t be the last time we see him. He portrays Travis with an energy and confidence that unwittingly holds the family together and pilots the story throughout.
The underlying narrative is daughter Beneatha’s desire to attend medical school and her relationship with friend Joseph Assagai, and her continual search for life outside of the family as she advances into young womanhood.
Playwright Lorraine Hansberry understood life and its complications for the post-WW II African-American family and fluently penned its reality. This production compiles a cast of actors that are able to present her words as reality, as well as draw the audience into the reality. This play does more, however. A RAISIN IN THE SUN reminds us that struggles still exist, and that hard work and perseverance is not only a thing of the past. We must press on as a people and together keep the momentum of the dialog penned by such writers as Loraine Hansberry in A RAISIN IN THE SUN.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN is currently playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.raisinbroadway.com.
