Overview

On March 11, 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s 'A Raisin in the Sun' opened on Broadway and changed the face of American theater forever. As the first-ever black woman to author a play performed on Broadway, she did not shy away from richly drawn characters and unprecedented subject matter. The play attracted record crowds and earned the coveted top prize from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. While the play is seen as a groundbreaking work of art, the timely story of Hansberry’s life is far less known.

Genres

Cast

LaTanya Richardson Jackson

Narrator (voice)

Anika Noni Rose

Lorraine Hansberry (voice)

Harry Belafonte

Self

Sidney Poitier

Self

Glynn Turman

Self

Louis Gossett Jr.

Self

Lorraine Hansberry

Self (archive footage)