A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

I have read very few plays that made me sit back in awe at the end the way that this play did. Usually when written down, plays lose some of their power, but DAMN! I am in awe of what such a seemingly simple three-act piece was able to accomplish.

Simple, because really, this is a play about a family that grumbles a bit when together--don't we all--but when dealing with outsiders, sticks together and sticks up for one another. This is a play about an unexpected gift providing you with the ability to live out a dream. This is a play about some people just being who they are and others wanting more. And these simple things coalesced to accomplish so much.

And I'm not even talking about politics or civil rights. In these areas alone, yes, this was (and, sadly, continues to be) a groundbreaking play. But even just the intensity of human emotion and these universal situations that allow you, no matter who you are, to connect with the characters…This is what playwriting should always be about.

And yes, I did just end a sentence with a preposition. That's how much I loved this play!

Stay tuned for when I read Pulitzer Prize-winning Clybourne Park. (Does anyone know what beat A Raisin in the Sun for Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1960? I'll give you a hint--it's one of only eight musicals to have ever won a Pulitzer and it's nowhere near as good as this.)

~10/10~