A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry

The Characters
Ruth Younger (Marcia Jones)
Travis Younger (Jacques Taylor)
Walter Lee Younger (Donus Crawford)
Beneatha Younger (Felecia Marie Bell)
Lena Younger-Mama (Esther Rolle)
Joseph Asagi (Norman Upsher)
George Murchison (Lamont Arnold)
Karl Lindner (Frank Koe)
Bobo (Milton Thompson)
Two Moving Men (Gary Evans & Silas K. Malik)

Playwright's Notes
A RAISIN IN THE SUN debuted in New York on March 11, 1959 and quickly became the most realistic and influential slice of Black America the Broadway stage had ever seen. Set in Chicago's Southside ghetto during the 1950's, the plot revolves around three generations of the Younger family and the conflict raised by the deceased husband and father's $10,000 insurance settlement. Various aspects of Black life are explored: the relationship between Africans and Americans, family bonds and personal freedom. The concerns of 1959 are still the concerns of 1984.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN won the New York Drama Critics' Award for Best Play of 1959 and has been revived numerous times. United Artists released a film version in 1961. The musical version, RAISIN, won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 1974.