A Raisin in the Sun

Play

Writers: Lorraine Hansberry

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1959
Genres
Drama
Settings
Simple/No Set
Time & Place
chicago's southside, 1950s
Cast Size
medium
Ideal for
community theater, black box, regional, university, College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Male
Casting Notes
Mostly male cast
Includes mature adult, adult, young adult, child characters

Synopsis

A Raisin in the Sun is a play about dreams; what it means to dream big, to lose faith in your dreams, and to discover new dreams. It is also a story about family. We meet the Younger family the day before they are getting a $10,000 insurance check from the death of the father, Walter Younger. We watch as different members of the family have different ideas of how to use the money: Mama wants to buy a house with a little garden in the back, Walter Lee Younger (their son) wants to invest in a liquor store, Ruth (Walter Lee’s wife) wants a house with some space and a nice kitchen, and Beneatha (Walter Lee’s sister) wants to go to medical school. Tensions increase as each member of the family tries to get their own way, eventually threatening to break apart their foundation completely. The stakes continue to climb as questions about identity, class, value, race, and love become forefront issues, and outsiders to the family make it impossible to forget the world that the Younger family cannot seem to escape.

Lead Characters


A Raisin in the Sun guide sections