ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
Court Theatre presents
A Raisin in the Sun
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent
January 31 – March 2, 2025
Court Theatre – under the continuing leadership of Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, with interim artistic leadership from Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent and Senior Managing Producer Heidi Thompson Saunders – is thrilled to present Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece A Raisin in the Sun, winner of a Pulitzer Prize, 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 cast of A Raisin in the Sun includes Shanesia Davis (Lena Younger/Mama); Brian Keys (Walter Lee Younger); Kierra Bunch (Ruth Younger); Martasia Jones (Beneatha Younger); Jeremias Darville (Travis Younger, alternating); Di'Aire Wilson (Travis Younger, alternating); Elliot Charles 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 (costume design); Maximo Grano De Oro (lighting design); Willow James (sound design); Khalid Long, PhD (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken, CSA (casting); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (assistant stage manager).
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.
Accompanying this production of A Raisin in the Sun is a suite of public programs, including:
● Community Reads Series, presented in partnership with Chicago Public Library at the Blackstone Branch
○ Community Reads Social at the Blackstone Branch of the Chicago Public Library (4904 S. Lake Park Avenue)
○ Community Reads Book Club at the Blackstone Branch of the Chicago Public Library (4904 S. Lake Park Avenue)
○ Community Reads Post-Show Conversation at Court Theatre (5535 S. Ellis Avenue)
● Agora Conversation – A Dream Deferred: Black Mobility and Housing – at the National Public Housing Museum, presented in partnership with the National Public Housing Museum (625 N Kingsbury Street)
● Let’s Talk About Art at the Hyde Park Art Center, presented in partnership with the Hyde Park Art Center (5020 S. Cornell Avenue)
● Bushman Screening and Lecture at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, presented in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center (915 E 60th Street)
Tickets to A Raisin in the Sun are available now, and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (773) 753-4472 or online at www.CourtTheatre.org. Information about the public programming offerings will be available online at www.CourtTheatre.org.
A Raisin in the Sun is sponsored by Bel Brands USA, Mesirow, and Gustavo Bamberger and Martha Van Haitsma. A Raisin in the Sun is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.
Featuring: Shanesia Davis (Lena Younger/Mama); Brian Keys (Walter Lee Younger); Kierra Bunch (Ruth Younger); Martasia Jones (Beneatha Younger); Jeremias Darville (Travis Younger, alternating); Di'Aire Wilson (Travis Younger, alternating); Elliot Charles Johnson (Joseph Asagai); Charles Andrew Gardner (George Murchison); Julian Parker (Bobo); Vincent Teninty (Karl Lindner); and J. Nicole Brooks (Mrs. Johnson).
Creatives: Andrew Boyce (scenic design); Raquel Adorno (costume design); Maximo Grano De Oro (lighting design); Willow James (sound design); Khalid Long, PhD (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken, CSA (casting); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (assistant stage manager).
Dates:
Previews: January 31 – February 7, 2025
Press Opening: February 8, 2025 at 7:30pm
Regular Run: February 9 – March 2, 2025
Schedule:
Wed/Thurs/Fri: 7:30 p.m.
Sat/Sun: 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Accessible Performances:
ASL Interpretation on March 1, 2025 at 12:30pm
Touch Tour on March 2, 2025 at 12:30pm
Audio Description and Open Captioning on March 2, 2025 at 2:00pm
Location: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
Tickets:
$42.00 – $72.00 Previews
$58.00 – $90.00 Regular Run
Student, group, and military discounts available
Box Office:
Located at 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org.
Court Theatre reimagines classic theatre to illuminate our current times. In residence at the University of Chicago and on Chicago’s historic South Side, we engage our audiences with intimate and provocative experiences that inspire deeper exploration of the enduring questions that confront humanity and connect us as people.
