Exclusive: Kenny Leon on reviving ‘A Raising in the Sun’ for 2014Posted by Wilson Morales
March 31, 2014
Opening this week at the Barrymore Theater is the revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun,’ starring two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the role of Walter Lee Younger, LaTanya Richardson Jackson as his mother Lena Younger, Sophie Okenedo as his wife, Ruth, and Anika Noni Rose as his sister Beneatha. Also cast in the play are Sean Patrick Thomas as Joseph Asagai, Jason Dirden plays George Murchison,and Stephen McKinley Henderson will play Bobo. Theater director David Cromer will play Karl Lindner.
Directing the play once again is Kenny Leon, who helmed the 2004 Broadway revival (with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan) as well as the ABC-TV movie in 2008. McDonald and Rashad won Tony Awards for their performances. Leon also directed Mr. Washington in his 2010 Tony-winning performance in ‘Fences‘ along with Viola Davis.
The play originally opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1959 and starred Sidney Poitier (Walter Lee Younger), Ruby Dee (Ruth Younger), Diana Sands (Beneatha Younger) and Claudia McNeil (Lena Younger).
Set on Chicago’s South Side, A Raisin in the Sun revolved around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee (Denzel Washington), his wife Ruth (Sophie Okonedo), his sister Beneatha (Anika Noni Rose), his son Travis (Bryce Clyde Jenkins) and matriarch Lena, called Mama (LaTanya Richardson Jackson). When her deceased husband’s money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans: buying a liquor store and being his own man. Beneatha dreams of medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face form this seminal American drama.
What’s different with the 2014 play is that the Younger family will seem a bit older that previously performed on stage.
Blackfilm.com exclusively spoke with Leon on reviving the play and working with Mr. Washington again, specifically casting him in a role that many see fit for someone in their 30s as Poitier and Combs were when they took on the role.
You did the revival 10 years ago, so why do this again as opposed to something new?
Kenny Leon: First of all, ten years is a long time. Most great revivals on Broadway happen every four or five years. If you look at ‘The Glass Menagerie,’ ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ and others, they get done again every 4-5 years. It’s almost a shame that we haven’t had a revival of this play in 10 years. The production that we did ten years ago will always hold a special place in my heart. We introduced people who had never seen a play on Broadway. Phylicia Rashad became the first African American woman to win a Tony in the leading actress category for a play. That was really special, but Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ is the play that keeps on giving. When I first tackled this play in 2004, I sat down with Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, who’s no longer with us and God rest his soul, and Lloyd Richards, who directed the original 1959 Broadway production. I’ve always seen a connection with all the people who have done the play. Sidney Poitier has a lot to do with us now and Denzel and I sat down in his home recently just to talk about the experience of the play. We talked about what’s it like to go into the Barrymore Theater. It’s very exciting to do this play. If you think about what’s happening in this country in the last 10 years, we have an African American president. We had the Trayvon Martin incident. We have had a lot to test where the American dream is, which is what Lorraine Hansberry is writing about. She’s given us a wonderful classic that keeps on giving. With any classic, you always want to see what your best actors can do with the material. I want to see what Denzel Washington, Sophie Okonedo, LaTanya Jackson, and Anika Noni Rose can do with this play.
The role of Walter Lee Younger was played by Sidney Poitier and Sean Combs when they were in their 30s. Denzel is near 60. Was that ever a concern about casting him in that role?
Kenny Leon: Absolutely not. That’s why it’s called acting. You want the greatest actor who can do the role and see what he does with it. I couldn’t imagine turning down a ticket to go see Denzel Washington play Walter Lee Younger. Most times, we’re not concerned about what age an actor really is. We’re concerned what age they can play. With Denzel, I say how old will Denzel be if you didn’t know how old he was. How old was Claudia McNeil, who played the original Lena Younger? People don’t know that Claudia was 41 years old. How old was Phylicia Rashad when she played the role? She was in her 50s when she play it. How old was Orlando Bloom when he starred in ‘Romeo and Juliet’? Romeo is supposed to be 17 and he’s 35. How old was the last guy who played Macbeth or Hamlet. We don’t get caught up in how old someone is or their age. We care about who can deliver the character. As a director who directs quite frequently on Broadway, Denzel and this cast have the opportunity to make people revisit the play in their community, communities, and church theater. Hopefully, it will bring a new life to ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ but other hand, I’m coming back in a 2-3 months to do ‘Holla If You Hear Me,’ the Tupac musical where I have all young actors who have never been on a Broadway stage. In terms of balance, you want to create opportunities for our great known actors and you want the same for actors who have yet to be discovered.
A Raisin in the Sun is playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre from April 3 to June 15.
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