Historical Background, Dramaturgy, and Design

A person sits at a kitchen table. They look perplexed or flummoxed. — Photo of J. Nicole Brooks by Michael Brosilow.

Explore the historical context of A Raisin in the Sun, its dramaturgy, and the design of Court Theatre’s production.

Historical Background

Learn more about the history in which Lorraine Hansberry’s play is grounded.

Redlining and housing discrimination are central themes in A Raisin in the Sun. Learn more about the history and impacts through these videos from WGN News (9:00), AJ+ (8:30), WTTW (2:30), and the Harvard Kennedy School (4:30).
Check out a few of the 150+ interviews in the Oral History Archive at the National Public Housing Museum.
This Southside Weekly article, Mapping Chicago’s Racial Segregation, includes maps and extensive detail about housing and race from centuries ago until today.
For three years, Lorraine Hansberry and her family lived at 6140 South Rhodes Avenue in Woodlawn, Chicago, a home and experience that greatly inspired A Raisin in the Sun. Read more about this historic landmark here.
Hear directly from Lorraine Hansberry in this video, Lorraine Hansberry Speaks! ‘The Black Revolution and the White Backlash.’
Watch a video of the panel “Basic Black,” featuring scholars, professors, and producers discussing the life and work of Lorraine Hansberry.
This video offers an introduction to A Raisin in the Sun via interviews with Phylicia Rashad, the actors from the 2012 production at Westport Country Playhouse, and a number of scholars of Lorraine Hansberry and African American literature.
Lorraine Hansberry is famed for A Raisin in the Sun, but she was so much more. This preview of the documentary Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart hints at the complex, full woman she was.
Listen In: Check out these podcasts – “Daughters of Lorraine” and “Stuff Mom Never Told You” – to explore more about Hansberry’s life and work.

Five Black boys wearing suit jackets and ties sit on top of or lean against the hood of a fancy car. A Chicago boulevard is visible behind them. — “Negro boys on Easter morning. Southside, Chicago, Illinois.” Russell Lee, 1941. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017789025/.

A family of eight Black folks, including a young child and some elders, poses for a photo after recently migrating to Chicago from the American South. They carry and wear traveling cloaks. Two suitcases sit in the foreground. — Courtesy of Chicago Detours, https://chicagodetours.com/bronzeville-neighborhood/

A group of Black adults meet in a Chicago living room to plan a march on Washington in 1940. — Source: Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.

A young Black boy sits smiling in a toy car that replicates the vehicle behind him. His father and mother watch from behind him. The family appears to be quite wealthy - they are outside of a nice home and wearing expensive clothes. — Courtesy of WTTW’s Dusable to Obama: Chicago’s Black Metropolis: https://www.wttw.com/dusable-to-obama/bronzeville.

Lorraine Hansberry rests her chin on her arms, which are crossed over a typewriter. — Photo by David Attie, courtesy of Getty Images.

Nine young Black children sit talking and laughing near and on the stone stoop of an apartment building, Chicago 1941. — Courtesy of Rare Historical Photos, https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/african-america-chicago-south-side-photos/

Eight young Black children hold hands and skip in a circle in front of an apartment building, Chicago 1941. — Courtesy of Rare Historical Photos, https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/african-america-chicago-south-side-photos/

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Dramaturgy

Check out these resources that shed light on some essential themes and motifs in A Raisin in the Sun, providing a glimpse into the dramaturgical research that went into this production.

Harlem by Langston Hughes: Hear the epigraph of – and source of the title for – A Raisin in the Sun, read by the poet.
The Enduring Legacy of A Raisin in the Sun: Production Dramaturg Khalid Y. Long, PhD, highlights profound impact of Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece.
On Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun: University of Chicago Professor Kenneth W. Warren provides crucial and fascinating context around playwright Lorraine Hansberry and her masterpiece.
Joseph Asagai is proud to be Yoruba. Learn more about the history, culture, and language of the Yoruba people in this Britannica article. And watch this video from Nigeria History Channel that explains Nigeria’s path to nationhood and this video from Epimetheus offering a succinct history of this culturally diverse nation.
Bronzeville, a South Side neighborhood in Chicago, is known as a Black Metropolis and Black Belt. This video from CBS Chicago and this video from the Language of Life Project share why.

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Design

Behind the Scenes: Check out Costume Designer Raquel Adorno’s inspiration and renderings for A Raisin in the Sun.
Culture and Region As Told Through Props: Head of Props Lara Musard showcases two of the hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of props found in the Younger family’s home.

Posted on January 28, 2025 in Learning Guides, Productions