Long Beach Playhouse’s current Mainstage production, A Raisin in the Sun, is a powerful production with insight to the struggle of African Americans in 1950s Chicago through the scope of one family’s push for happiness and success.
Packed with hair-raising performances, this play reflects on recent American history and the direct effects that institutional racism has on the Younger family.
A family of three generations packed into a two-bedroom apartment, the Youngers must decide what to do with a $10,000 insurance settlement left behind by the head of the family, main character Walter’s (Derek Shaun) father.
Set almost 70 years ago, this story still packs a punch with relatable characters and poignant themes. Success, hardship, family values and just a dash of faith structure the plot, and how each character wants to spend the money in order to make something of themselves.
Walter, looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, wants to spend the money investing in a liquor store with two other friends. Thinking the world owes him something, Walter expresses angst and frustration that carry through the play. Shaun’s depiction of this struggling character is intense, relatable, yet shameful. His lack of concern for others and expectation to come out on top in a world that is racially and socially designed to put him at a disadvantage make his character almost likable.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Screen-Shot-2016-06-02-at-4.00.05-PM.png” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Ruth Younger (Latonya Kitchen) sits in the apartment, forlorn over her husband’s temper and alcoholism as her mother-in-law Lena (Angela D. Watson) comforts her. ” captionposition=”right”] On the other hand, Walter’s honest, God-praising, keep-your-head-down mother Lena (Angela D. Watson) wants to purchase the nicest house for the best price her money can buy.
She’s not looking for anything other than immediate happiness in its simplest form. She just wants enough space for her family to live comfortably in, and a little window light to help her houseplant finally grow.
The stark contrast between mother and son leads to intense confrontational scenes and questionings of personal morals and ethics, keeping the audience attentive and drawn into the lives unfurling before them on the stage.
Queue Walter’s kid sister Beneatha (Dominique Johnson), looking to change the world outside her immediate sphere. She wants to become a doctor, using the settlement money to pay for college. She can’t quite seem to relate to any of her peers, or her family, for that matter. So, she looks to have an impact on something bigger than herself.
And Walter’s poor, patient, pregnant wife Ruth (Latonya Kitchen)? She just wants to be able to afford her new baby and get back to a place of love and trust with her frustrated husband.
Long Beach Playhouse’s A Raisin in the Sun will continue through Saturday, June 18, with showtimes on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and on Sundays at 2pm. For tickets and information, call (562) 494 1014 or visit lbplayhouse.org .
