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 – announces an additional extension through March 23 of Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun, due to overwhelming demand.
New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award winner, Tony Award nominee for Best Play, and the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a stunning portrayal of a family’s fight for dignity and the right to dream. A Raisin in the Sun will now run through Sunday, March 23, 2025. Tickets are available at the Court Box Office (5535 S. Ellis Ave.), via phone at (773) 753-4472, or online at CourtTheatre.org.
“I am thrilled that A Raisin in the Sun is extending even further into March. Thank you and congratulations to the cast, crew, creative team, and Court staff who are making this possible,” shares Director and Senior Artistic Producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent. “Now even more community members can experience Lorraine Hansberry’s poetry. This is a milestone for Court as an organization, and we are immensely proud to be doing this work about the South Side, on the South Side, and have it resonate with South Side audiences in such a powerful way.”
As the Younger family awaits 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. Lorraine 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.
The cast of A Raisin in the Sun includes Shanésia Davis (Lena Younger/Mama); Brian Keys (Walter Lee Younger); Kierra Bunch (Ruth Younger); Martasia Jones (Beneatha Younger); Jeremias Darville (Travis Younger); Di'Aire Wilson (Travis Younger, alternating); Eliott 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, with Associate Jeanette Rodriguez (costume design); Maximo Grano De Oro (lighting design); Willow James (sound design); Khalid Long, PhD (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken, CSA, with Associate Celeste M. Cooper (casting); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (assistant stage manager).
Accompanying this production of A Raisin in the Sun is a suite of public programs, including:
● Community Reads Series: Come together to discuss themes within the play, its inspiration, and its importance to the South Side; comprised of a social gathering, a book club, and a post-show discussion. The Community Reads Book Club will be held on February 26, 2025 at the Blackstone Branch of the Chicago Public Library; and the Community Reads Conversation will be held on March 1, 2025 at Court Theatre. Presented in partnership with Chicago Public Library at the Blackstone Branch.
● Let’s Talk About Art: Dive into A Raisin in the Sun with two virtual lecture-style workshops, a trip to the theatre, and an in-person artmaking workshop at the Hyde Park Art Center. This series will take place from February 17, 2025 through February 20, 2025. Sessions will be conducted virtually, at Hyde Park Art Center, and at Court Theatre. Presented in partnership with the Hyde Park Art Center.
● Bushman Screening and Lecture: Join us for a film screening and lecture of Bushman (1971), in partnership with the University of Chicago Film Studies Center. This film explores themes of Pan-Africanism and the global Black experience, a recurring theme in Hansberry's works. This screening and lecture will be held at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on February 21, 2025, featuring remarks from Antawan I. Byrd, PhD. Presented in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center.
Tickets to A Raisin in the Sun and related events are available now by calling the Box Office at (773) 753-4472 or online at CourtTheatre.org.
Fact Sheet / A Raisin in the Sun
Title: A Raisin in the Sun
By: Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by: Gabrielle Randle-Bent, Senior Artistic Producer
Featuring: Shanésia Davis (Lena Younger/Mama); Brian Keys (Walter Lee Younger); Kierra Bunch (Ruth Younger); Martasia Jones (Beneatha Younger); Jeremias Darville (Travis Younger); Di'Aire Wilson (Travis Younger, alternating); Eliott 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, with Associate Jeanette Rodriguez (costume design); Maximo Grano De Oro (lighting design); Willow James (sound design); Khalid Long, PhD (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken, CSA, with Associate Celeste M. Cooper (casting); Kate Ocker (production stage manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (assistant stage manager).
Extension: Now playing through Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Performance Schedule:
Wed/Thurs/Fri: 7:30pm
Sat/Sun: 2:00pm & 7:30pm
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:
$58.00 – $100.00 Regular Run
$60.00 – $110.00 Extension
Student, group, and military discounts available
Box Office: Located at 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org.
A Raisin in the Sun is sponsored by Gustavo Bamberger and Martha Van Haitsma, Bel Brands USA, Mesirow, and the Marion M. Lloyd Court Theatre Fund. A Raisin in the Sun is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.
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.