''Raisin'' is a musical with music by

Judd Woldin Judd Woldin (May 30, 1925 – November 27, 2011) was an American composer, most notable for his musical ''Raisin''. Biography Edwin Judd Woldin was born in Somerville, New Jersey. At the age of eight, he began taking piano lessons. In high schoo ...

, lyrics by Robert Brittan, and a book by Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg. It is an adaptation of the

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highli ...

play ''

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...

;'' the musical's book was co-written by Hansberry's husband, Robert Nemiroff. The story concerns an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

family in Chicago in 1951. The musical was nominated for nine

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

s, winning two, including Best Musical, and the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production ran for 847 performances.

Synopsis

In Chicago in 1951, an

family, Ruth Younger, her husband Walter Lee Younger, their son Travis and Walter's mother are living in a cramped apartment. Walter is a chauffeur but thinks that his father's life insurance policy proceeds will buy a way to a better life. He plans on buying a liquor store, but his mother Mama Lena Younger is against the selling of liquor. Tensions arise as Walter tries to convince Mama Lena to forget her dream of buying the family its own small house ("A Whole Lotta Sunlight"). Walter decides to make the deal for the liquor store and signs the papers with his partners Bobo Jones and Willie Harris. Beneatha Younger, Walter's sister, is in college and is romantically involved with an African exchange student, Asagai. When Walter comes home drunk he joins Beneatha in a celebratory dance, picturing himself as a chieftain ("African Dance"). Ruth and Walter fight about their future but they reconcile ("Sweet Time"). Mama arrives to announce that she has bought a house in the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park, and Walter leaves in anger ("You Done Right"). Walter has not returned home and Mama finds him in a bar. She apologizes and gives him an envelope filled with money. She asks him to deposit $3,000 for Beneatha's college education, and tells him the rest is for him. As the family packs to move, a representative of Clybourne Park, Karl Lindner, arrives and offers to buy back the house. Walter, Ruth and Beneatha mockingly tell Mama of the enlightened attitude of their new neighbors. Just then Bobo arrives to tell the family the bad news that Willie has run off with the money. This forces Walter to contact Lindner and accept the offer to buy back the house. Although Beneatha berates her brother for not standing up for principles, Mama shows compassion and understanding ("Measure the Valleys"). When Lindner arrives, Walter announces that the family will, after all, move to the new house.

Songs

;Act I * "Prologue" - Company * "Man Say" - Walter Lee Younger * "Whose Little Angry Man" - Ruth Younger * "Runnin' to Meet the Man" - Walter Lee Younger and Company * "A Whole Lotta Sunlight" - Mama * "Booze" - Bar Girl, Bobo Jones, Walter Lee Younger, Willie Harris and Company * "Alaiyo" - Asagai and Beneatha Younger * "African Dance - Beneatha Younger, Walter Lee Younger and Company * "Sweet Time" - Ruth Younger and Walter Lee Younger * "You Done Right" - Walter Lee Younger ;Act II * "He Come Down This Morning" - Pastor, Pastor's Wife, Mama and Mrs. Johnson * "It's a Deal" - Walter Lee Younger * "Sweet Time (Reprise)" - Ruth Younger and Walter Lee Younger * "Sidewalk Tree" - Travis Younger * "Not Anymore" - Walter Lee Younger, Ruth Younger and Beneatha Younger * "Alaiyo (Reprise)" - Asagai * "It's a Deal (Reprise)" - Walter Lee Younger * "Measure the Valleys" - Mama * "He Come Down This Morning (Reprise)" - Company

Characters and original cast

*Ruth Younger —

Ernestine Jackson Ernestine Jackson (born September 18, 1942) is an American actress and singer. Early life Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Jackson made her Broadway debut in 1967 as Irene Molloy in the all-black cast of '' Hello, Dolly!'' starring Pearl Bailey. ...

*Travis Younger — Ralph Carter *Mrs. Johnson — Helen Martin *Walter Lee Younger — Joe Morton *Beneatha Younger —

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

*Mama Lena Younger — Virginia Capers *Joseph Asagai — Robert Jackson *Preacher's Wife - Marenda Perry

Productions

The musical began a pre-

tryout on May 30, 1973 at the

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

in Washington, D.C.Barnes, Clive. "Stage:Capitol's 'Raisin'", ''The New York Times'', May 31, 1973, p. 49 It premiered on Broadway at the

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by He ...

on October 18, 1973, transferred to the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasti ...

on January 13, 1975, and closed on December 8, 1975 after 847 performances.

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human cond ...

was the director and choreographer, and the cast featured Virginia Capers as Lena, Joe Morton as Walter, Ernestine Jackson as Ruth,

as Beneatha, Ralph Carter as Travis, Helen Martin as Mrs. Johnson, and Ted Ross as Bobo. Capers later starred in the national tour. The production won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Virginia Capers won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. The International City Theatre in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

presented the musical in February and March 2003. The Court Theatre in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

staged the musical from September 14 through October 22, 2006. The cast included Ernestine Jackson, who formerly had played Ruth, in the role of Lena Younger.

Critical reception

In reviewing a performance in Washington (Arena Stage),

Clive Barnes Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, '' The New York Post.'' Barnes had sig ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "a warm and loving work." In his review of the Broadway production, Barnes noted that the book of the musical "is perhaps even better than the play... 'Raisin' is one of those unusual musicals that should not only delight people who love musicals, but might also well delight people who don't"."The musical is 'Raisin' and it has come to Broadway via Washington's Arena Stage". Barnes, Clive. "Theater: 'Raisin' in Musical Form", ''The New York Times'', October 19, 1973, p. 59 After the Broadway opening,

Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...

of ''The New York Times'' wrote, "The strength of ''Raisin'' lies in the keen intelligence and restless invention of a musical underscoring that has simply invaded Lorraine Hansbury's once tightly-knit, four-walled, close-quartered play, ''A Raisin in the Sun'', plucking the walls away, spilling the action onto the streets with a jittery down-flight of strings, mocking and matching realistic speech with frog-throated sass from the heavy-breathing viols." ''The New York Times'' also reported that there are "ovations every night at the 46th Street Theatre for 'Raisin'. But they are for the cast, not individual performers. There are no stars... It was at the Arena Theater in Washington, where the play first opened this spring, that Mr. McKayle said he started evolving the ensemble-acting concept."Campbell, Barbara. "Cast of 'Raisin' Works as Close as a Bunch of Grapes", ''The New York Times'', October 27, 1973, p. 20

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

External links

*
''Raisin'' synopsis, production information at guidetomusicaltheatre.com'Raisin' published script
{{Portal bar, Theatre, United States All-Black cast Broadway shows 1973 musicals Broadway musicals Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award-winning musicals