When Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun appeared on Broadway in 1959, the artist became at twenty-nine the youngest American playwright, the fifth woman and the only African American to date to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year. (more)

The powerhouse cast includes Grammy winning superstar Sean Combs (acclaimed for his work in the film Monster’s Ball), three-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (Ragtime, Master Class, Carousel), celebrated stage and television actress Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) and film star Sanaa Lathan (Out of Time, Love & Basketball).

A RAISIN IN THE SUN tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. It is a fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred. The Washington Post hails it as “one of a handful of great American plays – it belongs in the inner circle, along with Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey Into Night and The Glass Menagerie.”

A RAISIN IN THE SUN was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. It premiered in 1959, with Lloyd Richards directing a cast that included Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ruby Dee, Louis Gossett, Ivan Dixon, Glynn Turman, John Fielder, Lonne Elder III, Ed Hall and Douglas Turner Ward. The show ran for 530 performances and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play.

Lorraine Hansberry's beloved drama has not been seen on Broadway since its legendary original production. With its sensational cast, this strictly limited 15 week engagement -directed by Kenny Leon – is the most highly anticipated theatrical event of the year.

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