[NEohioPAL] Berko review: RAISIN IN THE SUN (Cleveland Play House)

[Roy Berko]

Outstanding ‘A RAISIN IN
THE SUN’ at Play House
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member, American Theatre
Critics Association)
 
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It seems ironic that the
week that this country elected its first African American President, the
Cleveland Play House opened ‘A RAISIN IN THE SUN, considered by many to be
America’s number one Black-themed play.
 
What happens to a
dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the
sun?
 
This segment of the poem A
Dream Deferredby Clevelander
Langston Hughes is the underlying theme for Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A RAISIN IN
THE SUN.’ 
 
On March 11, 1959, ‘A
RAISIN IN THE SUN’  opened on
Broadway.  The play had already
negotiated a long and troubled road just to find its way to the opening.  It was the first major on-Broadway play
by a Black female author.  It
thrust many of its rookie Broadway cast members into major entertainment roles
including Cleveland-born Ruby Dee, and future superstars Sidney Poitier and
Claudia McNeil.
 
No one could foresee that
the play's imminent triumph would mirror the changing role of Blacks in this
country and the role the play’s themes would play in African American culture
in the years that followed.   Though the restrictive covenants have been eliminated, even with Obama’s
election, the hatred in the voices and words of some at the McCain-Palin
rallies, still warns of racial hatred.
 
The New York Drama
Critics Circle named the Hansberry play the best American play of 1959.  Ironically, the play failed to receive
either a Pulitzer Prize or a Tony for Best Play. 
 
‘A RAISIN IN THE SUN’
relates the story of the Youngers, a Southside Chicago family trying to survive
in cramped ghetto quarters. When Mama gets a $10,000 check from her husband's
life insurance, they consider moving to a house in a white suburb.  A suburb in which the residents warn
that they don’t want a Black family as their neighbors.
 
A RAISIN IN THE SUN’ is
somewhat autobiographical.  Chicago, where Hansberry was born in 1930, was self-segregated along
racial lines at the time.  As a
child, Hansberry's family became one of the first blacks to move into a white
neighborhood.  When their neighbors
rebelled, both with threats of violence and legal action, the family defended
themselves.  The case went all the way to the US Supreme Court where the
Hansberrys prevailed, thus changing segregation in housing laws.
 
The Cleveland Play
House’s production, under the watchful eye of director Lou Bellamy is
superb.   He delves into each
deep corner, carefully guiding his cast to not over-play their roles.  The production hits all the right
notes.  The humor and the pathos
run in parallel lines.  The mood is
right…serious, but not depressing.
 
Franchelle Stewart Dorn
is wonderful as mamma.  She walks
the fine line between family matriarch and mother figure with precision.  Erika LaVonn is totally believable as
Ruth.  Young Aric Generette Floyd,
who has recently given some excellent performances, continues to impress!  This is one very, very talented
kid!  David Alan Anderson has the
difficult task of playing Walter Lee.  This is a part that can so easily be over-done.  Anderson keeps his emoting in
check.  His drunk scene is
masterfully done.  Bakesta King
gives a realistic quality to Beneatha.  The rest of the cast is equally impressive.  The only negative were some problems with projection and
slurring, which caused some speeches to be unintelligible.  
 
Vicki Smith’s scenic
design adds to the era-correct feeling of the play.  On the other hand, Mathew LeFebvre’s costumes are much too
numerous and grand for a family living on the border of poverty.
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Combine Hansberry’s superb script with
a well thought out production, and the result is an impressive evening of
theatre.  If you haven’t seen ‘RAISIN
IN THE SUN’ before, this is THE production to see.  If you have, a return visit is well worth your time.  Go!  (Be aware that the production is close to three hours in
length.)
 
‘A RAISIN THE SUN’ runs
through November 30 in the Drury Theatre of the Cleveland Play House.   For tickets for A RAISIN IN THE SUN,
which runs until November 30, go to clevelandplayhouse.com or call
216-795-7000.
 
 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2008, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)