A Raisin in the (Hollywood) Sun
Saturday, August 3, 2013 at 10:16AM Dancin' Dan here with the news that made my week: Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking play A Raisin in the Sun is coming back to Broadway. This news alone might not necessarily be cheer-worthy since it was just revived in 2004 but other than one of the great American plays back on the boards it's the starry cast attached to it that brings the excitement. Denzel Washington will lead the ensemble in the role of Walter Lee Younger which was played by Sidney Poitier on both stage and screen. So Denzel's Training Day Oscar speech continues to be true.
Joining Denzel will be no less than three Oscar or Tony-nominated actresses: Sophie Okonedo (as Walter's wife Ruth, originally played by Ruby Dee), Anika Noni Rose, and Diahann Carroll (as Younger family matriarch Lena, most recently played on Broadway by Phylicia Rashad).
WOW.
Taking a page from Cicely Tyson's book and returning to the stage after 30 years, Carroll is certainly my main draw here, despite Denzel's wonderful Tony-winning turn in August Wilson's Fences which was his last Broadway performance. He said he wanted to do this because his wife was outpacing him on the theater front and he wanted to catch up. Love that healthy competition!
Despite the play's acclaim, the original production of A Raisin in the Sun won none of the four Tony Awards for which it was nominated (it was a crowded year, with The Miracle Worker, The Best Man, and Toys in the Attic all being major players), and while the 2004 revival missed the Best Revival of a Play Tony (which went to Henry IV), it did score nods for its three main actresses, including a win for Phylicia Rashad.
Fun fact: Diahann Carroll was the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (for No Strings in 1962). Can she pull the same trick as Rashad and add one for Drama to her mantle? Can Washington finally catch up to Poitier? Will the third time be the charm for this gem of American drama? We'll find out in April 2014.
Reader Comments (14)
I'm curious about Washington's take on Walter Lee, because he is twenty years too old for the role, as written. And age is an important factor in any interpretation of this role.
Denzel did nor have a wonderful turn in Fences, I disagree completely with your statement. He succeeds in roles that mix charm and strength, leaders or men of dubious characters, but I don't see him willing to be vulnerable (as most male stars). Has he ever been in an independent film? I don't respect much his career trajectory and his choices.
In Fences, his performance was very one-note and he refused to show any emotion. When he tried, it came off as forced. That was so apparent, especially when you are working opposite Viola Davis. Even in movies like Flight in his last speech, I almost laughed when Zemeckis closed-up on the tear coming down his cheek. It was such a directorial push in order to convey the character's vulnerability.
Paul -- crazier still that "Younger" is part of his name :)
Denzel's speech is one of my favorite Oscar speeches.
When Broadway became so predictable?
Okay, yes, Peggy Sue, you're absolutely right. I mean, if they wanted to revive an important African-American play, there are certainly others that weren't revived as recently as 2004. And the Hollywoodization of Broadway is somewhat lamentable - but it's also a long, long tradition. And when stage actors "go Hollywood", it's always nice to get them back. I don't mind it when the results turn out well. And I have a feeling this will (even if, as Paul notes, Denzel really is too old for Walter).
If only Hollywood were so willing to explore African American themes in both contemporary and historical settings as Broadway/Theatre is.
is there a trend for casting actors much older than characters on Broadway now? I mean look at 36 year old Orlando Bloom as teenage Romeo. And yes Romeo is always cast a bit older but 36 is ridiculous. At least Condola Rashad is in her 20s.
I'm not against revivals. I'm against revivals of the SAME plays over and over again. I mean, I'm sure they're already working on a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring Jennifer Lawrence.
@Peggy Sue...
I actually think Jennifer Lawrence as Maggie the Cat sounds kind of interesting.
Peggy Sue is right, though. So much of the cannon is unexplored that repeatedly doing the same shows is like Hollywood with it's sequels and remakes.
Arkaan -- and yet, you object when I suggest that people should give Shakespeare a rest for a few years! ;)
"Even in movies like Flight in his last speech, I almost laughed when Zemeckis closed-up on the tear coming down his cheek. It was such a directorial push in order to convey the character's vulnerability."
I may be a Denzel apologist but that scene is on Zemeckis and not Denzel. Zemeckis got in a way of a movie that needed the performances to life the script and even directorial decision seemed like such a hindrance for that to succeed. Give it to somebody competent and that film would not have been such a mess.
Denzel is too old for the role but he comes from theater training. He was working in A Soldier's Play when it was off-Broadway 30 years which helped him get his TV career and then his movie career. If anything he is the actor who goes back to his roots. Hollywoodization of Broadway begins with Julia Roberts' attempt a few years ago and ends with Chicago stunt-casting.
As much as I love Denzel, we all know that he is far too old for this role in this revival that really has no reason for existing. With as much clout as each of these stars has individually (to varying degrees, of course) these resources could have been used to produce something new and just as exciting.
And is it merely I, or does he seem to be doing everything he can not to make that "Fences" adaptation happen? (I'm going to continue to harp on that until it actually does.)