Tony-Winning A RAISIN IN THE SUN Closes Tonight on Broadway

Broadway's critically acclaimed production of Denzel Washington in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun closes tonight at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. It was directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon and originally opened on April 3 for a limited engagement.

The production was a major success. Not only did it recoup its entire capitalization but it took home three Tonys. It won Best Revival of a Play, Best Director of a Play -- Kenny Leon, and Best Featured Actress in a Play -- Sophie Okonedo. By the fall of the curtain tonight, A Raisin in the Sun will have played for 27 previews and 85 performances.

A Raisin in the Sun also stars LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Anika Noni Rose,Stephen McKinley Henderson, David Cromer, Jason Dirden, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Bryce Clyde Jenkins.

Originally produced in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun was the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway, where it won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. This year's production is also playing at the same theatre 55 years later.

Set on Chicago's South Side, A Raisin in the Sun revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased husband's money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama.

The production has scenic design by Mark Thompson, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, sound design by Scott Lehrer, and music curation by Branford Marsalis.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN is produced by Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Eli Bush, Jon B. Platt, Scott M. Delman, Roy Furman, Stephanie P. McClelland, Ruth Hendel, Sonia Friedman/Tulchin Bartner, The Araca Group, Heni Koenigsberg, Daryl Roth, and Joan Raffe & Jhett Tolentino. Joey Parnes, S.D. Wagner and John Johnson are Executive Producers.