Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun was a triumph for its 29-year-old author in 1959, winning the New York Drama Critics Circle award for best play. It opened career avenues in theatre and in the cinema for a cast that included Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett, Jr.
The play was a victory for African American arts, as well. Hansberry broke both the color barrier and the gender barrier in American theatre -- with a play based on her family's own experience with restrictive real estate covenants in Chicago, a struggle vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1940.
Lisa Jordan's production at Austin's City Theatre acknowledges that history but is not burdened by it. She and the cast find the strength of Hansberry's story where it resides: in the resilience of family.
The City Theatre marks the 50th anniversary of Lorraine Hansberry's unforgettable play
A Raisin in the Sun February 25 - March 21 Thursdays- Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 p.m. 3823 Airport Blvd. – east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street Tickets $15 - $20. Guaranteed Front/2nd Row Reserved $25. Students $12. Group discounts are available. Thursday all seats $10. Reservations 512-524-2870 or by e-mail to info@citytheatreaustin.org
The City Theatre Company is proud to present the unforgettable production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Lisa Jordan. Called “a milestone in American theatre,” This presentation marks the 50th anniversary of the Broadway grand opening of this "milestone in American theatre"and is part of Black History month. The shows' four week run will be presented February 25 – March 21 at The City Theatre. “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” - Langston Hughes
A recent widow, Lena Younger wants to use her husband's insurance money to buy a home for her family, freeing them from the cramped tenement in which they live. Her son Walter Lee is determined to invest the money in a business - an opportunity for him to be his own man. Lena refuses; in her eyes a house is a sturdy thing to build a dream on. But when a white representative of the neighborhood "welcoming committee" presents them with an offer to buy them out of their new home, the dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Younger family members attempt to find their places amidst a number of difficult situations. Walter Lee for the first time begins to value what money can’t buy. In the process he achieves a new level of self respect and pride.
House of Yes by Wendy Macleod Directed by Japhy Fernandes October 15 - 31 It's the 70's. It's Thanksgiving. A very odd family is gathering at their estate next to that of the Kennedys. A crazy, spoiled, rich bitch is waiting with erotic anticipation for her twin brother to return home. What she doesn't know is that her twin brother is bringing his fiance -- a donut shop girl from the Big Apple.
A hurricane has blown all the power out. Someone finds a gun, then someone finds a knife...people get undressed to reveal their best metro sexual underwear. With Thanksgiving dinner ruined and only cranberry sauce to eat, it's no wonder that someone gets killed.
