Connecticut’s Sharon Playhouse is presenting the American classic, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun as the third Mainstage production of 2022 in the Bobbie Olsen Theater, October 7-16. Sharon Playhouse is located at 49 Amenia Road, Sharon, CT 06069.
Spencer Scott Barros is at the helm of this intimate, revival of the play featuring Three-time AUDELCO Award Winner Marjorie Johnson as Lena Younger, Donnell E. Smith as Walter Lee Younger, Maya Carter as Ruth Younger, and Kara F. Green as Beneatha Younger. Rounding out this roster is L.J Moses (George Murchison), Nii Adu Clerk (Joseph Asagai), Kennadi Mitchell (Travis Younger), Ronnie Reed (Bobo), and Dick Terhune (Karl Lindner).
Marjorie Johnson has created and recreated a wide range of characters. Some of her favorite roles include: Dotty in Colman Domingo’s DOT (NYC – Best Lead Actress AUDELCO Award); Candy Lady in Katori Hall’s HOODOO LOVE (NYC – Best Supporting Actress AUDELCO Award); Winnie Mandela in Laurence Holder’s M The Mandela Saga (NYC-Best Lead Actress AUDELCO Award); Skin of Our Teeth (Delaware Theatre Co. Wilmington)–Best Supporting Actress Philadelphia Critics Award Nomination); Rose in Joe DePietro’s The Last Romance (New Theatre, Overland Park, Kansas); Sojourner Truth & Zora Neale Hurston in The Pen & The Podium (Edinburg Festival, Scotland). Some TV and film credits include “Bull,” “Modern Love,” “Sneaky Pete,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” “Nurse Jackie,” “The Leftovers,” “Law & Order: SVU,” American Gangster and the soon to be released Armageddon Time.
A Raisin in the Sun, also currently playing at the Public Theater in New York City, concerns the divergent dreams and conflicts in three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis, and matriarch Lena. When her deceased husband’s insurance money comes through, Mama Lena dreams of moving out of Chicago’s South Side to a new home and a better neighborhood. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school.
Hansberry’s portrait of one family’s struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and changing world is a searing and timeless document of hope and inspiration.
The creative team includes director Spencer Scott Barros, costume designer Antonio Consuegra, lighting designer Alix Lewis, scenic designer Justin Boccitto, scenic artist Karla Woodworth, wig designer Kurt Alger, wardrobe supervisor Kathleen DeAngelis, master carpenter Meredith Yoho, and company manager Sarah Cuoco. Isabel Mendoza serves as production stage manager, with Jordan Cowan as assistant stage manager and intimacy consultant. The production is produced by Sharon Playhouse Interim Artistic Director Justin Boccitto and Associate Artistic Director Michael Kevin Baldwin.
Friday, October 7th – 8pm
Saturday, October 8th – 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, October 9th – 3pm
Thursday, October 13th – 2pm & 8pm
Friday, October 14th – 8pm
Saturday, October 15th – 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, October 16th – 3pm
For tickets and more information visit www.sharonplayhouse.org.
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer, activist and an Award winning filmmaker and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Lia is also the host and Executive Producer of BACKSTAGE PASS WITH LIA CHANG, a new Arts and Entertainment program that airs on Sundays at 6:30pm on FIOS 34, RCN 83, Spectrum 56/1996 and MNN2.
Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. Her short film, When the World Was Young recently garnered a 2021 DisOrient Film Audience Choice Award for Best Short Narrative. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young. She is also the Executive Producer for The Cactus, The Language Lesson, The Writer and Cream and 2 Shugahs. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations.
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