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A revised Student Edition of Lorraine Hansberry''s iconic 1959 play - the first play produced on Broadway to be written by a Black woman. Alongside the play text itself, this edition contains commentary and notes by Isaiah Wooden, which consider the play''s: > socio-historical context (including the Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in the US)> major themes (including African-American identity, property ownership, and emergent Black feminist politics)> structure and devices (including mid-20th century reality family dramas, "genuine realism" and Hansberry''s use of music, dance and song in the play)> production history (from the premiere production to the 2014 Broadway revival starring Denzel Washington and LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Dawn Walton''s 2016 UK touring production) > engagement with the play (including contemporary "response" pieces such as Neighbors by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris and Beneatha''s Place by Kwame Kwei-Armah)The notes section at the back of the edition contains definitions of terminology used in the play with which students may not be familiar. Overall, this edition helps students to make sense of Hansberry''s play and its politics through a contemporary lens, in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, and in line with current debates around race, gender and class.>
List of contents
Chronology
Commentary
Socio-Cultural and Historical Contexts
Major Themes
Structure and Devices
Production History
Critical reception and legacy
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Notes
About the author
Lorraine Hansberry was born in 1930 in Southside, Chicago. Her first play, A Raisin in the Sun, opened in March 1959 and made history by being the first play written by a female black author to be staged on Broadway and won the New York Critics' Circle Award. Her career was cut short by her death when she was only 34.Isaiah Matthew Wooden is Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College, USA, and a director, dramaturg, and critic. His research and teaching focuses on 20th and 21st century African-American art, drama and performance. Wooden is the author of Reclaiming Time: Race, Temporality, and Black Expressive Culture (2025) and co-editor of August Wilson in Context (2025) and Tarell Alvin McCraney: Theater, Performance and Collaboration (2020).
Report
The power and craft of the writing make A Raisin in the Sun as moving today as it was then. Entrenched attitudes about race make the challenges its characters face still relevant. Guardian
