Denzel Day
Wednesday 16th April
Day 4
We went out for breakfast to our usual diner. Then we went shopping again. My daughter found the top she wanted but I still couldn’t find a decent pair of black shoes so I decided to try again on Friday morning.
The highlight of the day was my visit to The Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
In the afternoon we went to watch ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959.
The title comes from the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
This was displayed on the screen at the front of the stage.
It’s a story based on a black family’s experiences in the Washington Park subdivision of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighbourhood.
It stars Denzil Washington as Walter Younger who is married to Ruth, played by Sophie Okonedo, Anika Noni Rose plays his sister Beneatha, La Tanya Richard plays his mother.
Walter and Ruth Younger and their son Travis, along with Walter’s mother Lena (Mama) and sister Beneatha, live in poverty in a dilapidated two-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s south side. Walter is barely making a living as a limousine driver. Though Ruth is content with their lot, Walter is not and desperately wishes to become wealthy, to which end he plans to invest in a liquor store in partnership with Willy, a street-smart acquaintance of Walter’s whom we never meet.
At the beginning of the play, Mama is waiting for an insurance check for ten thousand dollars. Walter has a sense of entitlement to the money, but Mama has religious objections to alcohol and Beneatha has to remind him it is Mama’s call how to spend it. Eventually Mama puts some of the money down on a new house, choosing an all-white neighbourhood over a black one for the practical reason that it happens to be much cheaper.
Reference Wikipedia
You can read a longer description of the play.
‘A Raisin in the Sun’ did not disappoint. It was a fantastic performance by all. Each member of the cast was outstanding. The cast brought a sense of humour to the play but it was also about the issues of social divide, in terms of class and race which was prevalent in America. One could say it was a precursor to the civil rights movement.
Noni Rose’s character portrays the next generation of free thinking, young educated black women, who will not settle for less and shows a generation gap. The play also highlighted the family dynamics, the role of women within the family and how they play an intrinsic part, each relying on the other.
Denzel’s performance was stellar. He brought a sense of humour as well as genuine stage presence. Although he was portraying a younger Walter, it did not detract from his performance. He displayed a range of emotions throughout the play which builds up until the very end, when his built-up rage finally erupted.
It was Sophie Okonedo’s debut on Broadway and her portrayal of Ruth, the distressed and overburdened wife should not go unnoticed. She played the part with wit and charm and brought a degree of depth to the character.
Hansberry wrote about the social issues in America, in particular the racial struggle which fore-shadowed the changing tides and the rise of the civil rights movement. The play speaks to everyone, no matter what age or background you belong to.
If I had the opportunity to watch this play again I would without any hesitation.
Pictures by Google images.
Betsy's philosophers 