The Public Theater's Off-Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun officially opens at the Newman Theater October 25. The production, which began September 27, postponed its original opening night due to COVID cases within the company. The run will continue through November 13. Robert O'Hara is at the helm.
Francois Battiste and Tonya Pinkins lead the company as Walter Lee Younger and Lena Younger, respectively, appearing alongside John Clay III as Joseph Asagai, Bjorn Dupaty as Moving Man, Calvin Dutton as Bobo, Mister Fitzgerald as George Murchison, Perri Gaffney as Mrs. Johnson, Paige Gilbert as Beneatha Younger, Christopher Marquis Lindsay as Moving Man, Mandi Masden as Ruth Younger, and Jesse Pennington as Karl Lindner.
Battiste's son, Toussaint Battiste, alternates in the role of Travis Younger with Camden McKinnon. Rounding out the company as understudies are Almeria Campbell, Vann Dukes, Skyler Gallun, and N'yomi Stewart.
Hansberry investigates the American dream, racism, housing discrimination, and economic strife through the story of a Black family newly arrived in Chicago in this classic play, which premiered on Broadway in 1959.
The production features scenic design by Clint Ramos, costume design by Karen Perry, lighting design by Alex Jainchill, sound design by Elisheba Ittoop, sound system design by Will Pickens, hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis, video design by Brittany Bland, and movement direction by Rickey Tripp. Prop management is by Claire M. Kavanah, with Teniece Divya Johnson serving as fight and intimacy director. Clarissa Marie Ligon is production stage manager and Andie Burns is stage manager.
Coming next in the Public's season are the New York premiere of Madeline Sayet's Where We Belong, the world premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks' Plays for the Plague Year, a world premiere musical The Harder They Come by Parks and Jimmy Cliff, the world premiere of Ryan J. Haddad's Dark Disabled Stories, the world premiere of Pulitzer winner James Ijames' Good Bones, and Erika Dickerson-Despenza's Shadow/Land, along with a Mobile Unit tour of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.
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Mandi Masden, Tonya Pinkins, and Toussaint Pinkins in A Raisin In The Sun
Francois Battiste and Tonya Pinkins in A Raisin In The Sun
John Clay III and Paige Gilbert in A Raisin In The Sun
Francois Battiste, Mandi Masden, Paige Gilbert, and Jesse Pennington in A Raisin In The Sun
Tonya Pinkins in A Raisin In The Sun
Francois Battiste and Toussaint Battiste in A Raisin In The Sun
Francois Battiste, Tonya Pinkins, and Mandi Masden in A Raisin In The Sun
Camden McKinnon and Tonya Pinkins in A Raisin In The Sun
Mister Fitzgerald, Tonya Pinkins, and Paige Gilbert in A Raisin In The Sun
Perri Gaffney in A Raisin In The Sun
Mandi Masden and Francois Battiste in A Raisin In The Sun
Calvin Dutton and Francois Battiste in A Raisin In The Sun
