A RAISIN IN THE SUN Comes to Court Theatre

Court Theatre will present Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece A Raisin in the Sun, New York Drama Critics Award winner, Tony Award nominee for Best Play, and the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. This production will run January 31 – March 2, 2025 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7:30pm.

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a stunning portrayal of a family’s fight for dignity and the right to dream. As the Youngers await their recently deceased patriarch’s life insurance check, they allow themselves to imagine a bigger life – a life with room to breathe – until those plans are thrown into jeopardy. Hansberry’s language rings as wise and prescient as ever in her moving answer to Langston Hughes’s question, What happens to a dream deferred?

Staged sixty years after Lorraine Hansberry’s passing, Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent (Antigone) brings Hansberry’s masterpiece home to Chicago’s vibrant South Side and Court’s stage for the very first time.

The cast of A Raisin in the Sun includes Shanésia Davis (Lena Younger/Mama); Brian Keys (Walter Lee Younger); Kierra Bunch (Ruth Younger); Martasia Jones (Beneatha Younger); Jeremias Darville (Travis Younger); Di'Aire Wilson (Travis Younger, alternating); Eliott Johnson (Joseph Asagai); Charles Andrew Gardner (George Murchison); Julian Parker (Bobo); Vincent Teninty (Karl Lindner); and J. Nicole Brooks (Mrs. Johnson).

The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (scenic design); Raquel Adorno, with Associate Jeanette Rodriguez (costume design); Maximo Grano De Oro (lighting design); Willow James (sound design); Khalid Long, PhD (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken, CSA, with Associate Celeste M. Cooper (casting); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (assistant stage manager).

“Court Theatre’s A Raisin in the Sun really is a homecoming,” shares Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent. “This is a play about the South Side of Chicago – not just in the 1950s, but the South Side of Chicago that began at the dawn of the Great Migration and continues to live with us today. It’s about people who came from far away and arrived in Chicago with hope for a better life – a life of their own choosing. A personal touchstone for many, we want to create numerous points of connection to this staging of Raisin, so we are also featuring a collection of public programs to foster even deeper engagement. We cannot wait to share this production and programming with you.”

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