Gabriel Brown*
George Murchison
Westport Country Playhouse debut. New York:
iDream (Premiere Stages);
As You Like It (Inwood Shakespeare Festival). A recent BFA graduate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. UNCSA credits include
Fences (Lyons),
A Soldier's Play (Davenport),
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oberon).
Alvin Crawford*
Bobo
Broadway:
The Lion King, Candide, Miss Saigon, The Buddy Holly Story. Off-Broadway:
Street Scene, A Child’s Christmas in Wales (Willow Cabin Theatre Company). Regional:
Famous Orpheus (Geva Theatre),
Martin Guerre (Guthrie Theater). Film:
It Runs In The Family. TV:
Clarence, Pray for Me Paul Henderson, “Degrassi High,”
South Pacific (PBS’ Great Performances “In Concert from Carnegie Hall”). Alvin is a graduate of The Juilliard School.
Lynda Gravátt*
Lena Younger
Broadway:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Doubt, 45 Seconds from Broadway, King Hedley II. Off-Broadway:
Dividing the Estate (Primary Stages);
King Hedley II (Signature Theater, AUDELCO Award);
Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons);
Intimate Apparel (Roundabout Theatre Company, AUDELCO Award);
Crowns (Helen Hayes, AUDELCO awards);
If Memory Serves, The Old Settler (Theatre World Award). Regional:
A Raisin in the Sun (Hartford Stage, Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Actress),
The Member of the Wedding (Ford’s Theatre),
Polk County (McCarter Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre),
Intimate Apparel (Mark Taper Forum),
A Night in Tunisia (Alabama Shakespeare), Alley Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Crossroads Theatre Company, Geva Theatre, The Kennedy Center, among others. Film: Indie:
All Fall Down, I Hate Valentine’s Day, The Bounty Hunter. TV: “Law & Order: CI,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “One Life to Live” (recurring), “As the World Turns,” “Law & Order,” “Trinity,” “Sex and the City,” “The Hoop Life,” and “HACK.” Graduate of Howard University. Proud member of AEA.
John Hemphill*
Karl Linder
Broadway:
Mamma Mia! National Tour:
Mamma Mia! Tour 2. Regional:
The Foreigner (Odyssey Theatre);
Urinetown (Matrix Theatre);
A Little Night Music, Three Sisters, The Laramie Project, The Rivals (InterAct Theatre Company). Film: David Fincher’s
Zodiac. Television: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Big Love,” “Castle,” “Criminal Minds,” “The West Wing,” “Las Vegas,” “Monk,” “Weeds,” and “Scrubs.”
Edena Hines*
Beneatha Younger
Regional:
Race (Gulfshore Playhouse),
Shipwrecked (Penguin Rep Theatre). Off-¬Broadway:
NATO-¬ Naturally Attractive Teenager Association (Impact Festival, Bleeker Street Theatre),
All’s Well That Ends Well (New York Shakespeare in the Park),
Henry Box Brown (World Premiere Musical by Tony Kushner, NYU). International:
Memphis Women and Fried Chicken, Girl Crazy, Pres Du Lune (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). MFA: NYU Graduate, Acting.
Billy Eugene Jones*
Walter Lee Younger
Broadway:
The Mountaintop, Passing Strange, Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun. Off-Broadway:
In the Footprint/The Battle Over Atlantic Yards (The Civilians);
Three Sisters, Waiting for Godot (Classical Theatre of Harlem). Regional:
The Good Negro (Goodman Theatre);
Stick Fly (Arena Stage/Huntington Theatre);
Death of a Salesman, Richard II, and
Breath, Boom (Yale Repertory Theatre);
The Wild Duck (Great Lakes Theater Festival);
Guys and Dolls, Hamlet, All's Well That Ends Well, Avenue X, My Children! My Africa!, The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Dallas Theater Center);
Spunk (Actors Theatre of Louisville);
Jitney, A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre);
Gee's Bend, Blood Divided (Alabama Shakespeare Festival);
Henry IV parts 1 and 2, Macbeth, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare Festival of Dallas). Billy is a graduate of Yale School of Drama.
Luka Kain*
Travis Younger
Luka is very excited to make his Westport Country Playhouse debut and is honored to work with Phylicia Rashad and this amazing cast. Theater credits include: the entire run of the Broadway revival of
South Pacific as Jerome, the son of Emile de Becque; the national tour of
South Pacific, including the Kennedy Center. Film:
Adam opposite Rose Byrne. Television: "Law & Order SVU,” numerous national commercials. He started his career at the age of one appearing in several national and international print campaigns as well as Fashion Week.
Hubert Point-Du Jour*
Joseph Asagai
Theater:
A Map of Virtue (13P); Nightlands (New Georges);
Angels in America (Signature Theatre);
The Tempest, The Really Big Once (Target Margin Theater);
The Brother/Sister Plays (Public Theater, u/s);
The Gentleman Caller (Clubbed Thumb);
365/Days Plays (Public Theater/Clubbed Thumb);
Twelfth Night, Love’s Labour’s Lost (New York Neo-Classical Ensemble). Regional:
Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre of DC);
Blue Door, The Breach (Seattle Repertory Theatre). Film:
Ma' George, University Place. TV: “Over/Under,” “Black Jack,” “Law & Order.” Hubert is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a year 2000 award winner in theater with youngARTS.
Susan Kelechi Watson*
Ruth Younger
Westport Country Playhouse:
Twelfth Night,
or What You Will. Broadway:
A Naked Girl on the Appian Way by Richard Greenberg, directed by Doug Hughes. Off-Broadway:
The Urban Dictionary Plays, Missed Connections (Ars Nova);
The Story (Public Theater). Film:
Small, Beautifully Moving Parts (SXSW Film Festival 2011),
Tia & Marco (SXSW Film Festival 2010),
Blackout (Tribeca Film Festival 2007). Television: Currently recurring on "Louie" (FX), "Golden Boy"(2013), "The Good Wife,” “Private Practice,” “Numbers,” “Medium,” “Law & Order(s)” and previous recurring roles on “NCIS,” “Kidnapped,” and “Third Watch.” MFA: NYU.
www.susankelechiwatson.com.
Ade Otukoya
Moving Man
Regional:
Gem of the Ocean (Hangar Theatre). He has been in plays such as
Eastern Standard by Richard Greenberg,
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, and is thankful to be a part of this cast as well.
Donnell E. Smith
Moving Man
Theater:
This Way Forward (The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players),
Tuxedo Junction (Birmingham Children's Theatre),
A Christmas Carol (The Renaissance Project),
Waitin' 2 End Hell (New African Grove Theatre Company). Film:
True Faith and Allegiance.
* Actors’ Equity
Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965)
Playwright
Hansberry’s best known work,
A Raisin in the Sun, was inspired by her family's battle against racial segregation in Chicago. It was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. While many of her other writings were published in her lifetime - essays, articles, and political speeches - the only other play given a contemporary production was
The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window. After her untimely death from pancreatic cancer, her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff became the executor for several unfinished manuscripts. He added minor changes to complete the play
Les Blancs, and he adapted many of her writings into the play
To Be Young, Gifted and Black, which was the longest-running Off-Broadway play of the 1968-1969 season. It appeared in book form the following year under the title,
To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words. Raisin, a musical based on
A Raisin in the Sun, opened in New York in 1973, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical.
A Raisin in the Sun was revived on Broadway in 2004 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play. The cast included Sean "P Diddy" Combs as Walter Lee Younger, Jr., Phylicia Rashad (Tony Award winner for Best Actress), and Audra McDonald (Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress). It was produced for television in 2008 with the same cast, garnering two NAACP Image awards. The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in San Francisco, which specializes in original stagings and revivals of African-American theater, is named in her honor.
Phylicia Rashad
Director
Ms. Rashad has directed Paul Stovall’s
Immediate Family (Goodman Theatre, Chicago), Lorraine Hansberry’s
A Raisin in the Sun (Ebony Repertory Theatre and Kirk Douglas Theatre, LA), and August Wilson’s
Gem of the Ocean (Seattle Repertory Company). Her acting credits include - Broadway:
August: Osage County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cymbeline (Lincoln Center Theatre), August Wilson’s
Gem of the Ocean (Tony nomination),
A Raisin in the Sun (Tony and Drama Desk Awards),
Into the Woods,
Dreamgirls, The Wiz. Off-Broadway:
The Story, Helen, Everybody’s Ruby, Blue, Bernarda Alba. Regional:
Every Tongue Confess, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Medea. Films:
Good Deeds. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Frankie and Alice, Just Wright, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored, Loving Jezebel, The Visit. Films for TV:
Steel Magnolias, A Raisin in the Sun (NAACP Image Award, Emmy and SAG nominations),
The Old Settler, Free of Eden. TV series: “The Cosby Show,” “Cosby.” BFA degree from the College of Fine Arts at Howard University.
David Blackwell
Associate Director
David Blackwell became the youngest stage manager on Broadway at age sixteen! His work on original Broadway and National tour productions include:
Raisin, Dreamgirls, Sweet Charity, The Wiz, Timbuktu, Showboat, Sophisticated Ladies, Beauty and the Beast. In 1988 David moved into his television career as key stage manager/guest director for “A Different World.” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Sister Sister,” and “Last Comic Standing” followed. With delight David revisits his theatrical roots again with Phylicia, exploring complexities of human nature with a shared vehemence for the arts. He brings to every project approached the gifts of a culturally rich childhood and the invaluable professional and ethical lessons learned from his phenomenal parents, the beloved Mr. Charles and Mrs. Frances Butler Blackwell.
Edward Burbridge
Scenic Design
Broadway:
Absurd Person Singular, Checkmates, Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, Jimmy Shine, Marat/Sade, Our Town, The First Breeze of Summer, The River Niger, The Visit. Off-Broadway:
Misalliance. Regional:
The Dream on Monkey Mountain, A Lesson From Aloes (Mark Taper Forum). Opera:
Lost in the Stars (San Francisco Spring Opera). Television:
Kojak, To Be Young Gifted and Black, Six from Cafe La Mama. Founding member, The Negro Ensemble Company. Performance: Baritone, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Revelations. Awards: John Hay Whitney, NAACP Trailblazer, National Black Theatre Living Legend. Faculty: UCLA, NYU, Pratt. Graduate: Pratt Institute.
ESosa
Costume Design
Broadway:
Porgy and Bess (Tony Award nomination),
Topdog/Underdog. Off-Broadway:
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lucille Lortel Award),
Trust, Crowns (Second Stage);
Break of Noon (MCC, Geffen Playhouse);
The Capeman (Delacorte Theater);
Juan and John, Father Comes Home from the Wars, Romeo and Juliet (Public Theater);
The Misanthrope, All That I Will Ever Be (NYTW). Regional:
American Night; (Arena Stage);
Ruined, Cuttin’ Up, Senor Discretion Himself (Helen Hayes Award nomination) (La Jolla Playhouse/Center Theatre Group);
Twist (Alliance Theatre);
Twist (2011 Ovation Award, Pasadena Playhouse);
Best of Both Worlds (A.R.T.);
Fences (Geva Theatre);
The Blue Door (Berkeley Repertory Theatre);
Big Maybelle, Turandot: The Rumble for the Ring, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Bay Street Theatre).
esosadesign.com
Xavier Pierce
Lighting Design
Recent credits include:
Drumline Live! (National and International Tour); Associate Lighting Designer for
Clybourne Park (Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway). Regional credits include: Intiman Theatre (Seattle, WA), Crossroads Theatre Company (New Brunswick, NJ), Peterborough Players (New Hampshire), Kentucky Performing Arts Center, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Santa Fe Opera, Utah Shakespearean Festival, and Arena Stage where he was an Allen Lee Hughes Lighting Design Fellow. Xavier Pierce lit the Grand Opening of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center with director Heidi Marshall. He is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts MFA in Design for Stage and Film and a member of the United Scenic Artist Local 829.
Lindsay Jones
Sound Design
Off-Broadway:
Rx (Primary Stages),
Through the Night (Union Square/Westside Theatres),
The Brother/Sister Plays (Public Theater),
The Burnt Part Boys (Playwrights Horizons/Vineyard Theatre),
Top Secret (New York Theatre Workshop), and many others. Regional: Guthrie Theater, ACT, Hartford Stage, Alliance Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, and many others. International: Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Canada), Royal Shakespeare Company (England), as well as productions in Austria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Scotland. Awards: five Joseph Jefferson Awards and 17 nominations, two Ovation Awards, two Drama Desk Award nominations. Film/TV Music: HBO Films’
A Note of Triumph (2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject).
www.lindsayjones.com
Michael Rossmy
Fight Director
Westport Country Playhouse:
Harbor, Tartuffe, Into the Woods. Broadway:
A Tale of Two Cities (Fight Director);
Fences, Cymbeline, Lestat, Tarzan, Superior Donuts (all as Assistant Fight Director), among other credits. Regional: Baltimore CENTERSTAGE, Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Public Theater, Huntington Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Yale Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Rattlestick, Project Y, and others. Michael is also a faculty member at the Yale School of Drama and the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts where he teaches Stage Combat.
Matthew Melchiorre
Production Stage Manager
Westport Country Playhouse:
Harbor; Tartuffe; The Year of Magical Thinking; Into the Woods; Twelfth Night; Suddenly Last Summer; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Beyond Therapy; The Diary of Anne Frank; Happy Days; She Loves Me; That Championship Season; Tick, Tick...Boom!; Around the World in 80 Days; A Holiday Garland; The Pavilion. Broadway:
The Light in the Piazza, Coram Boy, Hamlet, Curtains, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Wicked, The Lion King, All Shook Up, The Frogs. Off-Broadway:
Black Tie, Buffalo Gal, Happy Now?, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment..., White Chocolate, Open Heart, The Architecture of Loss. Other New York:
Show Boat In Concert (Carnegie Hall). Regional:
Honk! (Two River Theater Company),
Into the Woods (CENTERSTAGE).
Karen Hashley
Assistant Stage Manager
New York:
Suicide Incorporated (Roundabout Underground),
Edgewise (The Play Company), Lincoln Center Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and Playwrights Realm. Regional:
Eclipsed, The Master Builder, Passion Play (Yale Repertory Theatre). MFA Yale School of Drama.
Tara Rubin Casting
Casting
Westport Country Playhouse:
Harbor, Into the Woods. Broadway:
Ghost; Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; Promises, Promises; A Little Night Music; Billy Elliot; Shrek; Guys and Dolls; The Country Girl; RockN’Roll; The Farnsworth Invention; Young Frankenstein; The Little Mermaid; Mary Poppins; My Fair Lady; Pirate Queen; Les Misérables; History Boys; Spamalot; Jersey Boys; 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Producers; Mamma Mia!; Imaginary Friends; Phantom of the Opera; Oklahoma!; Happiness; The Frogs; Contact; Thou Shalt Not. Off-Broadway:
Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Second Stage). Regional: Yale Repertory Theatre, Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, The Old Globe. Film:
Lucky Stiff, The Producers.
Tara Rubin CSA
Eric Woodall CSA
Merri Sugarman CSA
Dale Brown CSA
Stephanie Yankwitt, Kaitlin Shaw, Lindsay Levine
A Raisin in the Sun Related Events
*Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at Westport Country Playhouse
Images of Home and Family: a Photographic Exhibit
a collaboration between Westport Country Playhouse, the McGivney Center, and Westport Arts Center
On display from October 9 – November 3
WCP Lobby and online at The Playhouse Blog
Westport Country Playhouse and the Westport Arts Center will collaborate with the McGivney Center in Bridgeport on a student photo project that explores the power of autobiography and the unique ways we each experience the world.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Writing from Life: A Creative Writing Project Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry
a collaboration between Westport Country Playhouse and the Carver Center of Connecticut
Published online at The Playhouse Blog
Westport Country Playhouse will work with a select group of students from the after-school program at the Carver Center in Norwalk in a creative writing project.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
A Raisin in the Sun: Is the Dream Still Deferred?
a collaboration with Norwalk Community College
Monday, September 24, 10:00am
at Norwalk Community College, East Campus Forum
188 Richards Avenue, Norwalk
In a panel discussion with NCC President David L. Levinson, NCC faculty, staff and students explore the enduring themes contained in
A Raisin in the Sun and their contemporary application.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
The Politics of Race, Space, and Place in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun
a collaboration with Sacred Heart University and TEAM Westport
September 27, 7:00pm
at Sacred Heart University, Commons Auditorium
5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield
Sacred Heart University faculty will present a discussion on topics relating to the sociopolitical climate of the 1950s, the rhetoric of protest and activism as voiced by Hansberry’s characters, and the innovations of
A Raisin in the Sun in the portrayal of black life that resisted, rebelled against, and re-visioned stereotypes.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Lorraine Hansberry's Feminism: Race, Class, and Gender in A Raisin in the Sun
a collaboration with Westport Public Library
Sunday, September 30, 2:00pm
at Westport Public Library
20 Jesup Road, Westport
Sharon Friedman, professor of literature and drama at New York University and author of numerous essays on feminism in twentieth century theater, will bring a feminist lens to Hansberry's drama in the context of her exploration of racial, economic and political oppression in mid-century America.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
An Open Discussion around A Raisin in the Sun
a collaboration with the Unitarian Church in Westport
Tuesday, October 2, 7:30pm
at Unitarian Church in Westport
10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport
The Racial Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church in Westport will host a discussion of
A Raisin in the Sun with Playhouse Associate Artistic Director David Kennedy. Attendees are encouraged to read the play or view the movie ahead of the discussion. The first fifteen minutes will be devoted to a recap of the principal themes. The remainder of the conversation will touch on the relevance of the play for our lives today and personal reflections. Participants are welcome to attend a performance together at Westport Country Playhouse and participate in a follow-up discussion.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
A Civil Rights Film Series
a collaboration with the Westport Senior Center
From October 3 - October 24
at Westport Senior Center
21 Imperial Avenue, Westport
In conjunction with
A Raisin in the Sun, the Westport Senior Center is sponsoring a series of Civil Rights films by local filmmakers Bill Buckley and Tracy Sugarman on Wednesdays from 2:15 to 3:45pm, on October 3, 10, 17, and 24. For titles and information, please contact the Center at (203) 341-5099.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Art That Tells the Truth: Chicago Street Photography in the 20th Century
a collaboration between Westport Country Playhouse and Westport Arts Center
Friday, October 5, 6:00 – 7:30pm
at Westport Arts Center
51 Riverside Avenue, Westport
Join WAC Director of Visual Arts, Helen Klisser During and WCP Associate Artistic Director David Kennedy for a guided exploration of powerful Chicago street photography, and for a lively discussion of the social and artistic milieu of Hansberry’s play in late-1950s Chicago.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
LGBT Night OUT
Thursday, October 11
6:30pm reception ● 8pm performance
Specifically for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community and allies, mingle with those you know and/or meet someone new while sampling delicious appetizers and sipping complimentary adult beverages.
Opening Night
Saturday, October 13
8pm performance and post-show reception
Join the cast, crew and staff for a festive celebration immediately following the performance featuring food provided by Cabot Cheese and wine from Castle Wine.
Sunday Symposium
Sunday, October 14
3pm performance and post-show discussion
Actress Lynda Gravátt, who plays Lena Younger, and David Blackwell, associate director of the current Playhouse production, will join Playhouse Associate Artistic Director David Kennedy onstage for a lively discussion about Lorraine Hansberry’s
A Raisin in the Sun.
Teaching Matters of Segregation and Race: Finding a Context for A Raisin in the Sun
A Professional Development Workshop for Educators presented by Facing History and Ourselves
Monday, October 15, 2012, 3:30 to 7:30pm
The Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at Westport Country Playhouse, Sheffer Studio
Free and open to all educators; reservations required
Tracy Garrison-Feinberg, Senior Program Associate at Facing History and Ourselves, will present a half-day workshop for teachers exploring questions of identity, membership, and perceptions of difference in reference to racial and ethnic identity in the United States.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Together at the Table Family Dinner
Thursday, October 18
6:30pm dinner ● 8pm performance
Families are invited to enjoy a communal dinner in the Playhouse’s rehearsal barn and a casual conversation about the show before attending a performance, all for just $10. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Must attend as a family unit. Together at the Table is made possible, in part, by the Westport Rotary Club.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
InteraCT: Playhouse Young Professionals
Friday, October 19
6:30pm reception ● 8pm performance
Meet and mingle with fellow young professionals while enjoying light appetizers and complimentary adult beverages. Make a new friend or business connection while enjoying a night of theater!
Commitment amid Complexity: Lorraine Hansberry’s Drama and Worldview
Sunday, October 21, after the 3:00pm matinee performance
Free and open to the public
Steven R. Carter, author of
Hansberry’s Drama, and one of the most noted scholars on the life and work of Lorraine Hansberry, and Tracy Heather Strain, founder of the Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project, discuss the evolution of Hansberry’s life and art.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Open Caption Performance
Sunday, October 21
3pm performance
Audiences with varying degrees of hearing loss will be able to enjoy the performance while watching an easy-to-read digital screen of the actors' dialogue. When purchasing tickets to the open caption performance, please be sure to choose orchestra level seats located on the left hand side of your computer screen to be sure to see the open caption screen.
Backstage Pass
Wednesday, October 24
Immediately following the 2pm performance
Join the Playhouse production staff as they share with you the finer points of what makes a play work on the stage. From moveable scenery to lighting effects, from trapdoors to design renderings, you never know what you’ll see.
A Day for Community
Sunday, October 28, 3:00 pm matinee
Discounted ticket price of $15
This specially discounted matinee performance will be followed by a discussion centered on the theme of community as reflected in Lorraine Hansberry’s play. Come early, and enjoy a pre-show reception in the lobby. A Day for Community is made possible through the support of Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder, P.C.; Fairfield County Community Foundation; The Fairfield County Chapter of The Links, Inc.; and The Greater Fairfield County Foundation .
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Post-Show Conversation: A Day for Community
Sunday, October 28, after the 3:00pm matinee performance
Free and open to the public
This specially discounted matinee performance will be followed by a discussion centered on the theme of community as reflected in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, featuring David J. Dent, professor of journalism at New York University, and Larri Mazon, Chair of the Bridge Building Ministry at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport. Further guests to be announced.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
To Be Young, Gifted & Black: A Film Screening Cancelled due to weather
Monday, October 29, 7:00pm
Free and open to the public
To Be Young, Gifted & Black is an autobiographical, documentary film featuring excerpts from the plays, memoirs and other writings of Lorraine Hansberry. Featuring Blythe Danner, Barbara Barrie, Ruby Dee, Al Freeman Jr., and Lauren Jones, the 1972 film was adapted and compiled by Robert Nemiroff, Hansberry’s ex-husband and frequent collaborator.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
Together at the Table Family Dinner
Thursday, November 1
6:30pm dinner ● 8pm performance
Families are invited to enjoy a communal dinner in the Playhouse’s rehearsal barn and a casual conversation about the show before attending a performance, all for just $10. Recommended for ages 12 and up. Must attend as a family unit. Together at the Table is made possible, in part, by the Westport Rotary Club.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
TalkBack
Thursday, November 1
Immediately following the 8pm performance
Join the cast of A Raisin in the Sun as they discuss the creative process and the challenges inherent in bringing Lorraine Hansberry’s play to life on the stage.
Part of What Happens to a Dream Deferred: Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun
By Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Phylicia Rashad
October 9 - November 3, 2012
Review Quotes:
The New York Times
“..Ms. Hansberry’s play is a spectacular work...Ms. Rashad and her fine cast have superlative material to work with, but they have revealed some nuances that I had never recognized, and found new richness in the family’s relationships and its individual hearts that I had not felt in other productions.”
Hartford Courant
“...honest, true and moving... All the actors play not just symbols but real people whom the audience deeply cares about.... Raisin d’être.”
Fairfield County Theater Examiner.com
“If you have never seen “A Raisin in the Sun,” this is the performance you should see, and if you have seen it before, this one is still one of the best you will ever see....There’s not a slow moment in this play nor a wrong note from anyone in this truly excellent cast. You really can’t do better for an evening’s entertainment than to see this terrific production....Don’t miss it.”
WestportPatch.com
“emotionally-charged...drew the opening night's packed house to its feet at the curtain call.”
Hartford Arts Examiner.com
“...an exemplary revival...timely, relevant and full of warmth... a fast moving, life affirming drama... feels fresh and crisp, thanks to some careful casting and astute direction...a rewarding and heartening experience.”
BroadwayWorld.com
“...the definitive version of A Raisin in the Sun... impeccable...as good as it gets.”
Nytheaterscene.com
“...a solid production of the classic...This production, under Rashad’s firm hand and clear vision, never falters...In all, A Raisin in the Sun lives on, with appropriate tribute paid in this Westport production.”
On Connecticut Theater
“You will certainly enjoy this very moving production.”
Newtown Bee
“...a worthy, absorbing and highly enjoyable production.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Releases:
October 23, 2012
Thousands of Students and Teachers to Visit Westport Country Playhouse for Lorraine Hansberry's
A Raisin in the Sun
October 2, 2012
Westport Country Playhouse Presents "A Day for Community" with Specially Discounted Tickets for Lorraine Hansberry's
A Raisin in the Sun, Directed by Phylicia Rashad
September 25, 2012
Westport Country Playhouse Presents an Education and Community Initiative in Conjunction with Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
September 20, 2012
Tony Award Winner Phylicia Rashad to Director Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun at Westport Country Playhouse
Casting Includes Lynda Gravatt, Billy Eugene Jones, Susan Kelechi Watson, and More
September 18, 2012
Westport Country Playhouse Offers $15 Student Tickets to All Performance of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Directed by Tony Award Winner Phylicia Rashad
August 22, 2012
Westport Country Playhouse and Long Wharf Theatre Collaborate for a Special Ticket Offer on Two Celebrated Plays
News and Articles
October 17, 2012
Theatermania.com
Phylicia Rashad Shines on the Other Side of A Raisin in the Sun
by Keith Loria
October 13, 2012
WestportNow.com
Standing Ovation for A Raisin in the Sun Opening
Photos by Helen Klisser During and Dave Matlow
October 12, 2012
WPKN - State of the Arts
Interview with Phylicia Rashad
Hosts Richard Pheneger and Peggy Nelson
October 11, 2012
BroadwayWorld.com
Photo Flash: First Look at Westport Country Playhouse's A Raisin in the Sun, Directed by Phylicia Rashad
October 10, 2012
WestportNow.com
Bridgeport Street Images Tied to A Raisin in the Sun
Contributed Photo
October 10, 2012
Hartford Courant
Phylicia Rashad: How She Followed "The Sun"
by Frank Rizzo
October 9, 2012
WestportNow.com
A Raisin in the Sun Begins Previews Tonight
Photo by Dave Matlow
October 5, 2012
WestportNow.com
Photos Set the Scene for A Raisin in the Sun
Photos by Helen Klisser During
October 4, 2012
Westport News
Playhouse Announces Casting for A Raisin in the Sun
October 4, 2012
Westport Minuteman
A Raisin in the Sun to Open at Westport Country Playhouse
October 1, 2012
CT.com
A Raisin in the Sun Playing at Westport Country Playhouse
by Mike Sembos
October 1, 2012
BroadwayWorld.com
BWW Interviews: Edward Burbridge Talks about Designing Sets
by Sherry Shameer Cohen
September 24, 2012
Playbill.com
Phylicia Rashad Will Stage Westport's A Raisin in the Sun; Casting Announced
by Adam Hetrick
September 20, 2012
Theatermania.com
Phylicia Rashad to Direct A Raisin in the Sun, Starring Lynda Gravatt, Billy Lee Jones
by Sarah Moore
