More on Raisin, past and present

Throughout our production of A Raisin in the Sun, we’ve been learning about the inspiration for the production, and how this landmark play has influenced other artists. Here are three interesting stories we wanted to share with you.

Lloyd Richards, a director, a gentleman, and foster father to generations of American playwrights.
Richards directed the first production of A Raisin in the Sun in the 1950s. He also mentored Walter Dallas, the director of the Arden’s production. Walter dedicated his work on this show to Richards. Read more about this extraordinary theatre artist and man in this article, reprinted with permission from Dramatics Magazine, published by the Educational Theatre Association.

Lorraine Hansberry, her Chicago Law story
Did you know that A Raisin in the Sun is inspired by real events that happened in the playwright’s life? Read the details of Lee vs. Hansberry, 1939 on The University of Chicago Library News.

Hansberry’s Long shadow in “Raisin Cycle”
Clybourne Park, which the Arden produced in 2012, isn’t the only new play that leases characters from A Raisin in the Sun. At Baltimore’s Center Stage theatre, they are premiering Beneatha’s Place. Read all about it in this article from the Washington Post. 

Have you read something else about A Raisin in the Sun you’d like to share with us? Post it in the comments section here!