Family Dreams- A Raisin In The Sun

Have you ever had a dream?  Would this dream impact other people? Did these other people have a dream of their own that didn’t match yours?  This is the situation that the Younger family finds themselves in A Raisin In the Sun, the latest production at Midland Center for the Arts.  The patriarch of the family has died and the family is set to receive a life insurance check worth, $10,000.  Each family member has different plans for how the money should be spent.  Lena Younger (Deborah Edwards), the matriarch of the family, wants to purchase a home for the family, instead of the too small apartment that they are currently sharing. Son Walter Lee (Johnathan C. Williams), wants to use the money to invest in a liquor store, something he believes will lift the family up financially.  Ruth Younger (Indigo Connolly), Walter Lee’s wife, wants a better life for her family, one in which they don’t have to work so hard to survive from day to day.  Daughter, Beneatha Younger or Benny (Skylar Summey), is going to school with plans to become a doctor.  She plans for some of the money to go toward her costs for medical school.  The check is due to arrive on Saturday.  How will the money ultimately be spent?

Deborah Edwards representation of Lena Younger is perfectly played.  She is both a formidable force as a black mother, and vulnerable as a woman who has lost her husband and wants the dream that she and her husband had for her family to become a reality even though he is gone. Edwards fully embraces this character, showing a depth of emotion as she interacts with the other actor’s on stage.  Through her body movements, vocal intonations and facial expressions, she displays a full range of emotions in each encounter.

Johnathan C Williams perfectly balances Connolly in his representation of Walter Lee Younger.  He is a son, with a wife and family of his own, who is still within the orbit of his mother.  She is still the head of the family, even as he is now the man of the family since his father’s passing.  Williams is bigger than life.  He uses large movements and a booming voice, as well as facial expressions, to showcase a man who wants to be what everyone expects him to be while still pursuing what he desires.

Benny Younger, played by Skylar Summey, is the younger sister.  Looking to find her own identity within the world.  Summey plays Benny with equal parts of awareness and teenage entitlement.  As you watch her character develop, you see her eyes open to the reality of what is in the world and her part in it.

Kaycen Brown plays Travis Younger, the young son of Walter Lee and Ruth Younger.  Kaycen taps into the reality of coming up in a multi-generational household.  He expresses his love and respect for his grandmother, and also his relationship with his parents.

Rounding out the main cast is Indigo Connolly as Ruth Younger.  Connolly shows a depth of reality in her portrayal of Ruth.  You can feel her exhaustion, from working too hard and supporting her husband’s dreams (which never quite come to fruition), and her longing to have a home where there is room to spread out and breathe.

A large part of the supporting cast is played by Kevin Profitt as Karl Lindner, a resident of Clyborne Park, the white neighborhood where Lena Younger has chosen to move her family.  Profitt shows a nervousness that one would expect given the circumstances surrounding his interactions with the Younger family.  He uses his voice and his body to convey meaning beyond what his words are saying.

The cast is supported by many other actors including Colton Jordan as George Murchison and Daniel Alexander Brown as Joseph Asagai.  Both men are vying for the affections of Benny Younger. Each men offer Benny with a different type of life, helping her to see who she is and what she wants to be.  Brenda Beckom plays Mrs. Johnson, a neighbor of the Younger family.  TayVell Richmond plays Bobo, a friend of Walter Lee’s and the one who has to tell the family that a large portion of the insurance check has been stolen by the friend Walter Lee was planning to join in the liquor store business.  The final cast member is Lee Roy Evans Jr as the Moving Man.  Evans brings closure to the story, helping the family to move their belongings out of their apartment in preparation for transport to their new home, opening a new chapter of their lives.

There is one more voice on stage, Nicole Dixson-Mays, who opens and closes the show with a beautiful acapella song.

A Raisin in the Sun is a familiar story.  One of desires that a different for each person.  One of a family moving forward after a loss. One of deciding that family is the most important thing in the end.  Director Glecia Wright-Tatum did an excellent job of casting, bringing together a group of actors who blend seamlessly into a family unit.  This is an outstanding production worthy of its opening night standing ovation.  The play continues Febraury 28-March 1 and March 6-8 at Midland Center for the Arts.  Call the Box Office for tickets.

Photos by The Matteson Photography