Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

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A Raisin in the Sun is a classic tragedy. Through struggle the Younger’s all experience some hardship in learning the value of money and equality. I will have to say that the play was very interesting yet hard to watch. My first impression was that the stage was slanted. I’m still not sure why the stage was slanted and would love to ask the director of why it was slanted. Secondly, the actors were very hard to hear due to their soft speaking.
From the play I received two major underlying messages. First was from Mama’s plant. This plant symbolized all that the Younger family was; a half alive plant that is growing in all direction waiting for the spring to bloom. This is the perfect description of the Younger’s. The family is struggling with what to do with the insurance check and finally realize that by equality they will bloom into what they truly desire.
Secondly I saw that the Younger’s are a family of routine. It seems that each member is caught in their own struggle and can’t break the cycle they are caught in. It is not until someone makes a sacrifice that the family is able to flourish.
The lighting made a favorable impression. The blue at the beginning sets the “blue” mood that wonders over most of the family. The soft white that lights the house for the rest of the play was perfect since the family has a dim mood cast over them. As far as overall lighting scheme goes I would give the play a solid A.
My next impression came from the props in the house. The bed, couch, and chair were all but falling apart. There was no doubt that the family had little as far as possession but what they had they were proud of. They were not a family of pride but they took joy in what they had worked hard for. I was given a feeling of a family struggling to make it in the world but determined to reach the top of the mountain. Overall I would give the props a B
The costumes of the actors also made an impact. Walter Lee was always wearing formal, expensive looking clothing. His clothes went along with his ambitions of wealth and high rank. Mama’s clothes were always simply and barley of higher quality than rags. These clothes also go a long way to represent those philosophies that she lived by.

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