Stage Write

A Raisin in the Sun, the seminal work of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, tells the story of Walter Lee Younger and his family. Their dreams and plans have been thwarted and yet a ray of hope remains in the form of a life insurance check which could provide a new future for all of them. The Indiana Repertory Theatre is producing the play just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History month.  Tony Cisek’s incredible set design transports the audience into Chicago tenements. There are worn rugs on the floor, holes in the ceiling, and every rustic detail pulls us back into the 1950s. It takes a moment to notice the second layer of the set. Three stories of staircases rise up behind the apartment walls, simultaneously demonstrating the oppressive nature of their situation and the hope of rising to a better future. Kim Staunton is perfectly cast as the matriarch Lena. Her performance gives the entire show an earnest and raw sense of urgency. She seems the cracks...

Sometimes you see a show that just makes your mind hum for days. Clybourne Park, on stage now at the Phoenix Theatre, is one of those rare shows. The Pulitzer-Prize-winning play is a continuation of Lorraine Hansberry's classic “A Raisin in the Sun.” Her play tells the story of an African-American family that has the opportunity to move into all-white neighborhood in a nicer part of town. It was ground-breaking and controversial when it was first published and performed in 1959. Clybourne Park continues that story; its first act introduces us to Bev and Russ, the white family in the process of selling their home to the family featured in Raisin in the Sun. Bev is a ‘50s housewife overflowing with false cheerfulness. Her husband finds himself withdrawing from society after they tragically lose their son. Their neighbors are in a tizzy when they discover a “colored” family will be moving in and everyone’s true feelings on the subject come out. The second act picks up 5...