Raisin the Sun’ at Ashe Cultural Arts is Small but Mighty

By TheodoreP.Mahne,NOLA.com|TheTimes-Picayune

Like the houseplant that Lena Younger dreams of carrying to her family’s long-sought new home, “A Raisin in the Sun” is a hardy perennial.

Director Tommye Myrick’s new production of Lorraine Hansberry’s breakthrough drama, now marking the 60th anniversary of its premiere, proves that it is more than merely the passing of time that creates a classic work. The current staging reveals both the universal timelessness of the play, while also still speaking directly to contemporary issues of culture, race, justice and gentrification.

Now playing at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center’s Power House Theatre, this small production succeeds in making a large impact both through the power of its storytelling and the emotional realities that Myrick’s remarkable cast elicits .

“A Raisin in the Sun” takes its name from a Langston Hughes poem examining the price of deferred dreams. The story revolves around the Younger family, living in a tenement on Chicago’s South Side and its decision regarding how best to use a $10,000 life insurance settlement, received after the death of the patriarch. Will they invest in the eldest son’s dream of owning a business – a liquor store with two friends – or buy a house in a new white suburb, one that is white and unwelcoming?

As Walter Lee Younger, the son with the vision of enriching his family and leaving his job as a chauffeur

behind, Michael C. Forest makes an impressive stage debut. His performance already displays a degree of authority and command of the stage of a seasoned actor. Walter Lee is a driven man persistently reaching for what is just beyond his grasp, often led by those who seek to take advantage of him. Forest brings out the

sense of anger that has built up over the years, eating away at the character. It makes his epiphany by the end, however, more powerful, as he is able to rise up to give his family what they seek most from him – moral strength and human dignity.

Ebony Duely Johnson, playing Beneatha, Walter’s younger sister, shares in his drive to improve not only her family’s lot in life, but her society, as well. In a spirited performance, Johnson captures well the urgency of that commitment. Martin “Bats” Bradford” is appealing and effective as Asagai, Beneatha’s boyfriend and Nigerian mentor. Constance Thompson also brings a deep sense of truth and warmth to her performance as Ruth, Walter Lee’s struggling but supportive wife.

At the commanding moral center of the work, however, is Carol Sutton, who plays the widowed matriarch of the family, Lena Younger. In a performance filled with grace notes, Sutton displays a Gibraltar-like strength. Yet Sutton reveals that it is a durability that is tiring, after a lifetime of struggles. While she is ready to pass on the leadership of her family to her son, she remains unsure if his nature, which leads to rash and what she

sees as unwise decisions, leave him up to the task.

Sutton, a genuine treasure of the stage, richly conveys Lena’s stern but loving nature, one that holds both a wisdom and compassion for the ages. The cast is rounded out in smaller roles with well-done performances by Ellington Benoit Tilton, Tracy B. Mann, Christopher Robinson and Jim Holmes.

Myrick sets a taut dramatic pace for the piece, while also establishing a natural feel to the family dynamics onstage. While set in the mid- to late 1950s, the emotions behind the conversations and confrontations could
easily occur in any family living room today. This notable revival might easily be overlooked amid other major productions across town. Don’t let that happen. “A Raisin in the Sun