A well performed production of a well
constructed play marks the latest from this company which traces its
evolution back into the 1920s. The play was the first and only hit for
Lorraine Hansberry in 1959 and went on to success both as a movie (with
Sidney Poitier reprising his Broadway success) and as a musical when it
opened under the title Raisin. Under director Ed Starr, a solid cast
presents a no-nonsense interpretation of the play and, as a result, it plays
very well indeed.Storyline: On Chicago’s south side in the 1950’s a
family composed of a mother, her college age daughter, her grown son and his
wife and son are living together in a small apartment. The mother is about
to receive the life-insurance benefit check after the death of her husband.
She wants to use it to buy a house in the suburbs. Her son wants to use it
to open a liquor store. After she puts a down payment on the house, she
gives the rest of the cash to her son to deposit in the bank. He gives it to
his would-be partner who disappears with the money.
This is an actor’s play. The characters are broadly drawn and the
language is vivid. The cast here takes advantage of that fact and the
director controls any inclination to insert touches that would distract from
Hansberry’s lyrical text. Particularly satisfying are Michael F. Ratliffe in
the large role of the son and a couple of actors handling smaller roles
including Jason Barrett, Joseph R. Day, David Paglin and 13 year old Albert
N. Gentry IV. Ratliffe has played the role in a number of productions and
clearly knows his character’s mind. He’s just a bit heavy on the histrionics
when the loss of the cash is revealed but, on the whole, he delivers a
satisfying performance.
Gloria Gantt is the mother here and she plays her scenes competently with
a clear voice and few excessive mannerisms but she lacks the towering
strength of personality the role requires. Hansberry starts the play after
the death of the husband but there are strong clues in the text that he had
been the strength of the household and that the mother has reluctantly
assumed the leadership role as matriarch while hoping her son would step
into the breach. Thus, this is not only a story of the son’s emergence into
manhood but also of the matriarch assuming leadership of the household until
he does "become a man." As played here, Lakeisha Raquel Harrison, as the
son’s wife, fills in some of the strength that seems to keep the household
functioning.
The set designed by John Vandegriff is a finely detailed apartment with a
number of nice touches such as the lace draped over the telephone table, and
the costumes of Helen Templin set the period of the piece quite nicely.
Written by Lorraine Hansberry. Directed by Ed Starr. Design: John
Vandegriff (set) Helen Templin (costumes) Jim Robertson (lights) Dan Murphy
(sound). Cast: Michael F. Ratliffe, Gloria Gantt, Lakeisha Raquel Harrison,
Albert N. Gentry IV, Felicia Harden, Joe Lewis, Jason Barrett, David Paglin,
Joseph R. Day.
