Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun
February 22, 2022
Click on the title above for the published script of A Raisin in the Sun.
The Introduction, written by her husband, Robert Nemiroff, is definitely worth a read. In it, he reveals cuts made to the original script, provides informative details and analysis, and gives his take on the play's status as an American classic.
A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway March 11, 1959.
Click on the graphic of the New York Times page below to read the March 12, 1959 review by Brooks Atkinson.
The Broadway premiere of "A Raisin in the Sun" was as much a milestone in the nation's social history as it was in American theater.
In his Esquire essay “Sweet Lorraine” (November, 1969), her friend James Baldwin explained the play’s significance: “I had never in my life seen so many black people in the theater. And the reason was that never before, in the entire history of the American theater, had so much of the truth of black people’s lives been seen on the stage. Black people had ignored the theater because the theater had always ignored them.”
Studs Terkel speaking with Lorraine Hansberry two months after the play's opening, on May 12, 1959.
Click on the graphic (left) for the audio recording/transcript. (53:05, but the actual interview ends around 44:00)
Below is the New Yorker piece (May 9, 1959) that Studs Terkel refers to in his interview with Lorraine Hansberry, above.
Note that the most relevant portion begins at the bottom of the first column on the second page (page 34).
You will need to pop open each page, then click on the "plus" icon at the bottom to expand for more readability.
NYER Hansberry 1.docxNYER Hansberry 2.docxOn August 12, 1959, this piece by Lorraine Hansberry appeared in the The Village Voice:
"Willie Loman, Walter Younger, and He Who Must Live"
Click on The Village Voice front page (right)
Film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
In 1961, the first film adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun was released by Columbia Pictures. Lorraine Hansberry wrote the screenplay. Directed by Daniel Petrie, produced by Phillip Rose and David Susskind, the film featured most of the original cast of the stage production.
The film may be seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, and other streaming platforms.
Below is an essay about the film, the play, and Hansberry, written in 2008 by Sarita Cannon, an associate professor of English at San Francisco State University, where she teaches twentieth-century American literature.
Imani Perry, author of the biography Looking For Lorraine, introduces A Raisin in the Sun
(3:20)
UPDATE (late 2022)
In October, 2022, The Public Theatre staged a revival of "Raisin"
Below are two Atlantic articles offering commentary on the revival and on Hansberry
Imani Perry's Review
October 28, 2022
Daniel Pollack-Pelzner article from the Atlantic's Culture section.
November 21, 2022
MORE ABOUT LORRAINE HANSBERRY
Young, Gifted and Black
"To Be Young, Gifted & Black" performed by Nina Simone (includes interview) Recording session: Live at Morehouse College, Atlanta, June 1969
(9:21)
Though severely weakened by the cancer that would claim her life in less than eight months, on May 1, 1964, Hansberry left her hospital bed to speak to six teenage winners of a national creative writing contest, beginning her address with these words: "I wanted to be able to come here and speak to you on this occasion because you are young, gifted, and black. In the year 1964, I, for one, can think of no more dynamic combination a person might be."
In 1969, Robert Nemiroff, her ex-husband and creative partner, sought to tell Hansberry's life, using her own words, in a play he titled To Be Young, Gifted and Black, starring Ruby Dee as Lorraine.
Also in 1969, her friend, Nina Simone, introduced her song, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," a tribute to Hansberry, at the Harlem Cultural Festival and recorded it the same year. (The festival is the subject of Questlove's recent film, "Summer of Soul")
Click the picture of Nina Simone (left) to watch her speak about the song and then perform it.
Lorraine Hansberry Documentary
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
A 2017 documentary film, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2017; its national US broadcast premiere was on January 19, 2018 on the American Masters series on PBS.
A tribute to Lorraine Hansberry’s life and career as an essayist, journalist and playwright, and fearless advocate for social justice, the film mines her rich archive of writing, diaries, letters, and personal effects, resulting in an intimate and powerful portrait of an innovative artist and radical activist.
The film is the recipient of a 2018 Peabody Award
The documentary is available on Kanopy.
Check out the trailer (2:42)
FYI: Lorraine Hansberry Biographies
Click above for a New York Times review . (April 14, 2021)
Click above to read a New York Times review. (October 9, 2018)
Click above to read an excerpt from the book: "...on the Profound and Playful Friendship between Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin (January 19, 2022)