'A Raisin in the Sun' DVD Released May 6

The critically acclaimed, Sony Pictures Television movie adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway revival, A Raisin in the Sun will debut on DVD May 6 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Recreating their roles for the television adaptation are Sean Combs (Made, Monster's Ball), Emmy and Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (TV's "The Cosby Show"), four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald (TV's "Wit" and "Private Practice"), Tony Award nominee Sanaa Lathan (Out of Time, Something New), and John Stamos (TV's "ER"). A Raisin in the Sun was also the very first broadcast network television film to screen at the Sundance Film Festival. The DVD will be available for $24.94 SRP.

Lorraine Hansberry's 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 a cast that included Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett, Jr. A Columbia Pictures feature film with the same cast followed in 1961. Hansberry helped pave the way for playwrights like Amiri Baraka, Ed Bullins, and August Wilson, who have since come to represent the high-water marks of African-American drama.

This television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun premiered on ABC February 25, 2008, and was directed by Kenny Leon (TV's "I'll Fly Away: Then and Now"), who also helmed the critically acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival with stars Combs, Rashad, McDonald and Lathan.

The movie is executive-produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Storyline Entertainment, Sean Combs' Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Television. The show's Broadway producers, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson and David Binder, also serve as executive producers. The film is produced by John M. Eckert. Kenny Leon, who received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Director for his staging of the play on Broadway, makes his film debut with this movie; and Paris Qualles, writer of the critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated "Tuskeegee Airmen" and "The Rosa Parks Story," adapted Hansberry's play for the new movie event.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron produced Hairspray, executive-produced the Oscar-winning Best Picture Chicago and the Emmy-winning TV productions of "Gypsy," "Cinderella," "Annie," "Serving in Silence" and "Life with Judy Garland." Their films have won six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, eleven Emmy Awards and two Peabodys. For their work in television, their movies have amassed 66 Emmy nominations.

"A Raisin in the Sun tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. The ground-breaking drama portrays a brief period of time in the life of the Younger family as they anxiously await the arrival of a $10,000 life insurance check made out to the family matriarch Lena Younger (Rashad), from the estate of her late husband, Walter Lee. Experiencing a renewed sense of optimism, everyone in the family has his or her own ideas about how to use the new-found wealth for a fresh start. A Raisin in the Sun is a fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred," describe press notes.

DVD Special Features Include:

″ Featurette: Audio Commentary with Director Kenny Leon

″ Featurette: Dreams Worth While: The Journey of A Raisin in the Sun

″ Digitally Mastered Audio and Video

″ Widescreen Presentation

″ Audio: English 5.1 (Dolby Digital)

″ Subtitles: English, French

″ Bonus Previews

DVD Catalog # 24961

UPC Code: 0-43396-24961-5

Order Date: 4/3/08

SLP: $24.94

Broadcast Year: 2008

A Raisin in the Sun has a run time of approximately 131 minutes and is not rated. Artwork is available at www.SphePublicity.com. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com