Experience the Las Vegas Premiere of the Groundbreaking Masterpiece “A Raisin in the Sun” at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Weekend
Broadway in the H.O.O.D continues with the third installment of its “Resilience Personified” season at The Smith Center with the Las Vegas premiere of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic Tony Award-winning masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun, January 12-14, 2018 in the Troesh Theatre.
“The play that changed American theatre forever” (The New York Times), will make its Las Vegas debut at The Smith Center for The Performing Arts in honor of the 2018, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. week celebration. Lorraine Hansberry’s Tony Award-winning play follows the Younger family yearning for a better life far from the cramped confines of their Chicago tenement. This heart wrenching story centers around the divergent dreams of three generations of the resilient Younger family. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama, and their heroic struggle to retain dignity in a harsh and challenging world, is a timeless portrayal of hope and inspiration. This formative American story is as potent today as it was in 1959, when it made its debut on Broadway. Taking its name from the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, Hansberry asks a crucial and compassionate question: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”
The 1959 award winning production made its film debut in 1961, with a star-studded cast comprised of, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Claudia McNeil. Set to music in 1973 and called Raisin, it won the Tony Award for Best Musical. A Raisin in the Sun has received two Broadway revivals- 2004 with Sean “Puffy” Combs, Audra McDonald and Phylicia Rashad and 2014 with Denzel Washington. Broadway in the H.O.O.D’s production features a star-studded cast of local and international powerhouse actors! Award winning actor John Joseph is honored to follow in the footsteps of such greats as Sidney Poitier, and Danny Glover, as “Walter Lee Younger” and Tianna Lewis (Celie) in the 2013 tour of the hit Broadway musical The Color Purple slips into the role of “Walter’s” wife, “Ruth Younger.” The Las Vegas premiere will also feature the likes of local veteran TV, film and stage artists; China Hudson, Toni Ellis, Tiffany Thompson, Stu Chaiken, Arthur Loring and introducing young Azyon Brooks as “Travis Younger.”
“This exciting production will breath new life into Hansberry’s classic as we set out to take the audience on a beautiful journey of “Americana” told masterfully by this extraordinary cast. The story of the Youngers, a family who refuses to let the ways of the world still, kill, or destroy their JOY, a story that will forever change the way we look at life.” – Torrey Russell-Director
Tickets for A Raisin in the Sun are on sale now. Tickets are $30 + tax and service fees. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.broadwayinthehood.org, by phone at 702-749-2000 or 808-326-6868 (TTY) or at the box office located at 361 Symphony Park Ave. For preferred seating and special rates for groups of 10 or more, contact 702-749-2348.