The Play That Changed Broadway Forever

“Never before in the entire history of the American theater has so much of the truth of Black people’s lives been seen on stage.”

Those are the words James Baldwin used to describe A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play. Set between the end of WWII and 1958, the play follows a working-class Black family on the South Side of Chicago as they await a $10,000 life insurance payout they hope will change their lives.

Hansberry was only 28 when the play debuted in 1959 and immediately made history. In addition to being nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play and Best Direction, it racked up a litany of firsts:

• It became the first play by a Black woman, and the first play with a Black director (Lloyd Richards), to be performed on Broadway.
• Hansberry was both the first Black playwright and the youngest to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award

Join Rebecca and Jeff on Zero to Well-Read for a conversation about A Raisin in the Sun and its continuing impact on American theater. Find it on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts, and scroll for some Extra Credit.

Did Ya Know?

• The play’s title is a reference to Langston Hughes’ poem, Harlem
• The plot of Raisin mirrors Hansberry’s own family experience: she was eight years old when her parents bought a home in a predominantly white neighborhood. They were met with such resistance that their case ultimately ended up before the Supreme Court, which ruled that the neighborhood’s restrictive covenant, which functionally prevented Black people from moving in, violated due process and the 14th Amendment.
• The Hansberry family was friendly with several Black luminaries, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and Jesse Owens.

Adaptation Corner

• There was bad blood on the set of the 1961 film adaptation between Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil, who reprised their roles from the Broadway production. McNeil believed the film should adopt her character’s POV, but Poitier felt the same way about his. They never buried this particular hatchet.
• There is a 2008 film adaptation starring Sanaa Lathan, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Justin Martin, Bill Nunn, David Oyelowo… and Diddy. Woof. Way to ruin that for everyone, ya creep.

Say What Now?

My favorite section: out-of-context show quotes.

• “Let’s just copyedit Langston Hughes!”

• “If you put a raisin in the sun, does anything happen to it or does it just get more raisiny?”

• “Scrambled is a crowd pleaser. Sit down, Walter!”