PlayDramaOriginalBroadway
Opening Date
Mar 11, 1959
Closing Date
Jun 25, 1960
1st Preview
Mar 10, 1959
1st Preview
Mar 10, 1959
Previews
1
Performances
530
PlayDramaOriginalBroadway
External Links
Shop

ABOUT THIS PRODUCTION

Theatres
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
(Mar 11, 1959 - Oct 17, 1959)
Belasco Theatre
(Oct 19, 1959 - Jun 25, 1960)
Description
A play in three acts
Setting
Chicago's Southside. Sometime between World War II and the present.
Comments
"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?" --Langston Hughes
Theatre Owned / Operated by The Shubert Organization
Produced by Philip Rose and David J. Cogan
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Lloyd Richards
Designed by Ralph Alswang; Lighted by Ralph Alswang; Costumes by Virginia Volland; Sound Design by Masque Sound Engineering Company
General Manager: Walter Fried
Production Stage Manager: Leonard Auerbach; Stage Manager: Mervyn Williams
Press Representative: James D. Proctor and Merle Debuskey; Advertising: The Blaine Thompson Company and Fred Golden; Assistant to the Producer: Kenneth Schwartz and Mel Howard
Sidney Poitier
Walter Lee Younger
Brother
Ruby Dee
Ruth Younger
Ivan Dixon
Joseph Asagai
Lonne Elder III
Bobo
John Fiedler
Karl Lindner
Louis Gossett
George Murchison
Ed Hall
Moving Man
Claudia McNeil
Lena Younger
Mother
Mar 10, 1959 - May 28, 1960
Diana Sands
Beneatha Younger
Glynn Turman
Travis Younger
Douglas Turner
Moving Man
Understudies: Frances Foster (Beneatha Younger, Ruth Younger), Ed Hall (Joseph Asagai, George Murchison), Beah Richards (Lena Younger), Douglas Turner (Walter Lee Younger, Bobo) and Mervyn Williams (Karl Lindner)

Ethel Barrymore Theatre (Mar 11, 1959 - Oct 17, 1959)

Cast

Ossie Davis
Walter Lee Younger
Brother

Belasco Theatre (Oct 19, 1959 - Jun 25, 1960)

Production Stage Manager: Peter Lawrence

Cast

Ossie Davis
Walter Lee Younger
Brother
Ed Hall
Joseph Asagai
Lincoln Kilpatrick
Moving Man
Charles Richardson
Travis Younger
Frances Williams
Lena Younger
Mother
May 30, 1960 - Jun 25, 1960
Understudies: Billie Allen (Beneatha Younger), Tyrone Cooper (Travis Younger), Lincoln Kilpatrick (Joseph Asagai, George Murchison) and Elwood Smith (Walter Lee Younger)

Tony Award®

 

Best Play

1960 Nominee
Written by Lorraine Hansberry
Produced by Philip Rose and David J. Cogan
 

Best Actor in Play

1960 Nominee
Sidney Poitier
 

Best Actress in a Play

1960 Nominee
Claudia McNeil
 

Best Direction of a Play

1960 Nominee
Directed by Lloyd Richards
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