A Raisin in the Sun staged reading

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun was never expected to be a success when it initially debuted on Broadway in 1959, yet it remains an important work in understanding racism and the experience of black people in America—and it was the first Broadway play written by an African-American woman.

The Youngers are a black multigenerational family living in a shoddy apartment in Chicago. When the family receives some money, its members each has a different idea about where it should go. When the family matriarch puts the money down on a new house in an all-white neighborhood, a white representative of the neighborhood offers to buy them out in an attempt to avoid the neighborhood becoming mixed-race, leaving the Youngers with more big decisions. The play is based on a court case that was held prior to the passing of the Fair Housing Act.

Pioneer Theatre Company will present a free reading of the play, upon which the company’s upcoming production of Clybourne Park is based. (Nicole McDonald)