People’s Light’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is a tribute to Lorraine Hansberry’s very relevant legacy

Legacy.

That is the word that comes to mind after watching People’s Light’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. As a part of the theater’s 50th anniversary season, the questions of legacy swirl in the air before the show even begins. A translucent show curtain depicting an outline of Hansberry’s portrait hangs to greet audiences before the lights are dimmed.

One can assume that Hansberry herself was contemplating the idea of legacy when she penned A Raisin in the Sun at 27 years old. The title is pulled from a line of Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” and strung throughout the play are themes of ownership, legacy, questions of faith and the American dream, and the hopes that we pass down to the younger generation. Directed here by Steve H. Broadnax III, the People’s Light production highlights the real impact multigenerational financial burdens can have on a family.

After Walter “Big Walter” Younger dies in the 1950s, his family awaits the arrival of his $10,000 life insurance policy. His widow, Lena “Mama” Younger (Melanye Finister, who received her equity card while performing in a production of the play at People’s Light three decades ago), seeks to balance the hopes and needs of her two children, the ambitious premed Beneatha (Morgan Charéce Hall) and the hopeful entrepreneur Walter Lee (Eric B. Robinson, Jr.). Then there’s Walter’s careful wife, Ruth (Candace Thomas), and precocious son, Travis (Kristopher King Clark and Prince Peay).

When the Youngers decide to move out of their small, South Side Chicago apartment into a larger suburban home, they are informed by the HOA chairman, Karl Linder (Todd Lawson), that they will be the only Black family in the all-white Clybourne Park neighborhood, and as such, should consider selling.

While the pacing at times can feel slow, there is much ground to cover for audiences to understand the true weight of every financial decision the Younger family makes. Broadnax’s production finds ways to introduce levity and joy into the space. Hall’s Beneatha, in particular, is vivacious and free-spirited, often turning props and costumes into dance partners as she saunters across the stage.

She deftly translates the mannerisms of a modern-day 20-year-old into Beneatha’s 1950s self, easily making her our most accessible entry point into the play. If there was ever a doubt, Beneatha answers the question of what perspective Hansberry is writing from.

Her charm is only magnified in scenes with her two love interests, George Murchison (Jalen Coleman) and Joseph Asagai (Nayib Felix). Asagai is a Nigerian immigrant whose character can so easily be reduced to a caricature but, in Felix’s hands, feels grounded and real, proving himself to be more than a foil to Beneatha’s growth.

While designer James F. Pyne Jr.’s set doesn’t quite convey the cramped nature of the Youngers’ apartment, it does echo the sense of impermanence the Youngers feel. The perhaps-too-large apartment set is adorned with wire-hung crown molding, paintings, and mounted lamps. Between the doors and the curtains, there are no walls. Instead, we look out to the rest of the South Side, interpreted here with brick wall panels adorned with yellow-lit windows, so closely packed that the caged-in feeling is self-evident.

A Raisin in the Sun is undoubtedly one of the great American plays of the 20th century and here it is performed with careful respect for Hansberry’s word. Almost 70 years after the play’s debut, Hansberry’s tale still speaks to the struggle of achieving the American dream, and who dares to dream of it. While a three-hour running time may appear daunting, the cast manages to hold our attention as the Youngers’ fate unravels.

(Community/Arts)

Undoubtedly one of the great American plays of the 20th century, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun still manages to mirror the struggle to achieve the American dream and question who gets to dream it.

⌚️ Through March 30,📍 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, 🌐 peopleslight.org

Theater reviews are produced independently by The Inquirer without editorial input by their sponsor, Visit Philadelphia.