As Broadway waits for its next revival of the venerable A Raisin in the Sun, which is scheduled to open in 2014 with Denzel Washington in a leading role, one needn’t wait another moment in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater offers a powerful production of this 1959 play, widely considered to be one of the best plays of the 20th century.
Playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who became the first black woman to produce a play on Broadway, even has a Wisconsin connection. As a young woman, she attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison for two years. Raisin is set in nearby Chicago, where a multi-generational black family tries to maintain peace and sanity in an unjust world.
Raisin in the Sun has such a long and distinguished history that one is tempted to devote an entire review to that aspect of it. The most recent Broadway production was in 2004, with Phylicia Rashad, Sean Combs and Audra McDonald. Before that, the play became a musical, Raisin, which won a Best Musical Tony Award in 1973. But older folks are probably most familiar with the earlier, 1961 film. It starred Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, who performed in the original 1959 Broadway cast.
The years seem not to have diminished the play’s relevance. With the 2008 recession causing so many families to flee their foreclosed homes and move in with relatives, the Younger family easily could have faced the same circumstances. But living together is not a temporary situation for the Youngers. Neither adult children nor their parents have ever been able to afford a home.
Although the Milwaukee Rep’s production is staged in seemingly spacious surroundings, the mother and father still sleep behind a curtain in a makeshift bedroom. Their 10-year-old son sleeps on a couch in the main living area. Sister-in-law sleeps in a “real” bedroom that she shares with grandma. The roach-sprayer is often in use, and the Youngers often lament about the lack of natural light. The set speaks volumes about what the Youngers have accomplished, and the world in which they live.
So it’s no surprise that Lena, the family matriarch, makes an executive decision to use some insurance money for a down-payment on a house. (This turns out to be the same house that is the focal point of a more recent play, Clybourne Park. The Milwaukee Rep just closed a production of that play prior to the debut of Raisin in the Sun. ) Numerous themes run through the play. One of the most poignant is the frustration demonstrated by the family’s adult male (brilliantly played by Chike Johnson). He wants to take his late father’s place as head of the family, but he feels his work as a chauffeur makes him worthless in his own eyes. He has big dreams and not much common sense. When Lena, against her better judgment, offers him the bulk of the $10,000 check she recently received, one can almost see what’s ahead. In giving Walter the money, Lena makes it clear that $3,000 is to be set aside for her daughter’s college education. However, Walter is so convinced of his moneymaking scheme that he “invests” the entire amount in a business deal that goes sour. The family nearly splits apart when this development comes to light. But Lena, strong and rock-sturdy, manages to bring them together. As Lena, the amazing Greta Oglesby has no trouble convincing the audience that her word is law in the Younger household. She allows her children to take some liberties, but other infractions – such as questioning the existence of God – are strictly prohibited.
Walter respects his mother but has difficulty seeing the same strong qualities in his wife, Ruth. It is Lena who must point out Ruth’s value to her son. Ericka Ratcliff portrays Ruth as a softer version of her mother-in-law. She becomes depressed as her husband grows distant. However, she rarely misses a trick when it comes to supervising her son, Travis. The boy, adorably played by Braylen Stevens in one scene-stealing appearance after another, must endure his mother’s demands. But he knows he can always appeal to his doting grandma if the going gets tough.
As the sister, Beneatha, Mildred Marie Langford brings forth some of the playwright’s other themes, such as taking pride in one’s culture vs. assimilation into American society. Beneatha dreams of becoming a doctor. She is willing to put in the effort to reach her goal.
The play has a lot of humor, and some of it stems from the conversations between Beneatha and one of her suitors, the Nigerian-born Asagai. As played by Christophe Abiel, Asagai talks about dreams that go beyond what even Beneatha can see. Their unlikely romance is both sweet and funny, as played under the direction of OJ Parson.
The three-hour play may seem a bit long at times, but it also gives the audience a fuller understanding of this family and all the internal and external pressures they face. It ends on an upbeat note, as the moving men arrive and the family hustles out of their apartment and into a new world.
