The history-making play “A Raisin in the Sun” is playing at the Ruskin Group Theatre, 3000 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2 through Saturday, Sept. 17.
Tickets are $25, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups. For tickets and information, call 310.397.3244 or visit www.ruskingrouptheatre.com
Winning the Best Play Award from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, “A Raisin in the Sun” made history when it opened in 1959.
The title comes from a Langston Hughes poem entitled “Harlem,” also known as “A Dream Deferred.” The setting is the Younger household in the Washington Park Subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. It involves the family members’ struggle to achieve their individual dreams and potential despite challenges of a system that seems built to thwart them.
Playwright Lorraine Hansberry was the first black playwright to have her work produced on Broadway and the youngest American to win the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.
“Lorraine Hansberry has given the world a priceless jewel in the writing of this timeless play,” said director Lita Gaithers Owens. “From the moment it premiered it offered insight on the plight of African Americans in urban cities, and it continues to speak to the racial issues that are facing our country today. The ‘American Dream,’ for some in this nation, comes after enormous perseverance and tenacity. But for many, it simply doesn’t come at all. So, what can be discovered by taking a look from the view of those who get weary while waiting on the manifestation of their dream? Perhaps, by experiencing this play, it takes us on a journey of personal discovery and enlightenment which leads us to a path of a clearer understanding of the importance of social justice and equality through the power of love for one another.”
Ms. Borne may be contacted at judith@borneidentities.com