Director Kenny Leon and actors Denzel Washington, Anika Noni Rose, Sophie Okonedo, and LaTonya Richardson Jackson talk about bringing this American classic back to Broadway.
housing
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The New York Times Learning Network provides teaching and learning materials and ideas based on New York Times content. This week’s Text to Text series looks at the 1959 A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and “Discrimination in Housing Against Nonwhites Persists Quietly” by Shaila Dewan (The New York Times, June 11, 2013) in a lesson plan by Susan Chenelle and Audrey Fisch.
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Marilyn Stasio says, “The performance is a personal triumph for Washington, who refrains from star-strutting to fold himself into a tight-knit ensemble of committed stage thesps who treat this revival like a labor of love.”
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Lindsay Champion shares background on Lorraine Hansberry and A Raisin in the Sun.
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Peter Marks, writing for The Washington Post, applauds Kenny Leon’s 2014 production of A Raisin in the Sun.
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Ben Brantley of the New York Times notes that ". . .a drama often presented as something monumental, to be approached with awe and piety, becomes refreshingly accessible."
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The bottom line in David Rooney's review of A Raisin in the Sun for the Hollywood reporter: The charged emotions and earthy humor of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play remain undimmed.
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Jesse Green of New York Magazine/Vulture applauds the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun—with a star who knows what to do in the role.