A Raisin in the Sun: Blown Away
Santa Cruz Center for Culture,
through March 4
Running Time: 3 hrs
It’s mind-boggling to think that Lorraine Hansberry was only 26 when she wrote A Raisin in the Sun in 1956. Though this drama of a black family determined to leave the ghetto was her first play, Raisin was an instant hit when it was first staged in New York in 1959. It garnered a New York Critics’ Circle Award, making Hansberry the first black person to receive one, and shoved her into the limelight, where she became something of a mentor for the ensuing civil rights movement.
As A Raisin in the Sun hasn’t been staged in Austin in 16 years, I was glad for the chance to see Pro Arts Collective’s new production, directed by Boyd Vance. The powerful script blew me away. Set in South Side Chicago in the 1950s, the play focuses on the members of the Younger family, who see the chance to realize their dreams when the family patriarch dies and they receive an insurance settlement — but not everybody in the family has the same dream. Maurice Moore is Walter Lee Younger, the play’s protagonist, who battles to find his dignity and courage in the midst of pursuing his “American dream.” Raisin gives Moore the chance to really stretch his skills, though the actor takes his time reaching into himself and pulling out the rage that the character demands. He is restrained in the first couple of scenes and only starts to simmer as the evening wears on. It’s when he gets to Walter’s drunken monologue about Africa that Moore really starts letting it out. The most riveting scene of the night is his when he announces to the family’s horror his decision to accept the White Man’s offer.
As the family matriarch, Lena Younger, Marlah is strong, playing this powerful character with ease and believability. The chemistry between she and Moore electrifies the gripping scene in which Lena confronts Walter about the family inheritance. And when she strikes Walter out of the crushing despair born of a dream realized and lost in the course of one day, it can draw tears. Still, Marlah makes clear that Lena loves her children, in the way she chides her daughter Beneatha to love Brother in his lowest moment. Andrena Galloway takes off with the character of Beneatha, whose dreams of becoming a doctor are almost lost until her Nigerian friend from college makes her realize they are still there. Galloway gives her the sassy edge and strong mouth she needs to fight for what she wants.
Mele Juillerat stays as close to the original set design as the space at the Santa Cruz Center allows. The yellow walls of the apartment reflect the faux cheeriness that the family tries to maintain in the cramped living quarters. It was surprising to see how much the narrow stage of Santa Cruz could hold and how well it worked for the actors.
Pro Arts uses the revised edition of A Raisin in the Sun, which includes scenes that Hansberry added after the original production. Even though it makes for a long evening, the play doesn’t drag; I was glued to my seat to the very end.
This article appears in February 16 • 2001.