Contact: Sammy McDavid
A Feb. 20-22 Mississippi State presentation of "A Raisin in the Sun" will be accompanied by a visit from the award-winning play's original New York producer.
The 7:30 p.m. university performances in the McComas Hall theater are a collaborative effort among the communication department's Theatre MSU program, University Honors Forum and Richard Holmes Cultural Diversity Center. General admission tickets are $10; $5 for MSU students, faculty, staff, senior citizens, and children.
Produced by Philip Rose, Raisin debuted on Broadway in March of 1959. Winner of the Drama Critics Circle's Award for Best Play, young Lorraine Hansberry's contemporary drama examined the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of an African-American family in Southside Chicago. (Hansberry died of cancer in 1965 at age 34.)
The New York Times lauded "Raisin" as the play that "changed American theater forever." Since then, other critics have added praise for giving predominately white Broadway patrons "a glimpse into lives that had previously been hidden behind tenement walls" and for bringing a whole new audience of African-Americans to the theater.
Rose, who will be at MSU Feb. 17-21, later wrote of his groundbreaking experience in "You Can't Do That on Broadway! A Raisin in the Sun and Other Theatrical Improbabilities." While on campus, he'll be featured speaker on the 18th for a University Honors Forum program and the Holmes Center's annual achievement awards banquet. On the 19th and 20th, he is scheduled as guest lecturer for classes in theater and English.
Also on the 20th, Rose will autograph his book from 1-3 p.m. in the MSU Bookstore and 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall lobby.
M.J. Etua, a Louisville High School theater arts teacher, will direct the play. Active in the Starkville Community Theater, the classroom and stage veteran currently heads the Mississippi Theater Association's high school division.
For more information, telephone Kelli Anthony at (662) 325-7842 or 325-3320.
The student cast includes (by hometown):
CLINTON--Senior communication/broadcasting major Marcus Daniels, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Daniels and a Clinton High School graduate.
JACKSON--Junior psychology major Regina A. Lattimore, the daughter of Marilyn Jackson and a Murrah High School graduate.
LOUISVILLE--Senior international business major Courtney D. Clark, the daughter of Cheryl Oluyitan and a graduate of W.P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. Also from Louisville is cast member Tyrrell J. Roberson, a Louisville Elementary School student and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Reggie Roberson.
MOSS POINT--Senior communication/theater major Kendrick C. "Phat" Vivians, the son of Alice Williams and Carlton Vivians, and a Moss Point High School graduate.
TERRYTOWN, La.--John O. Noble, a graduate student in secondary education and the son of Veronica Noble. He is a Holy Cross High School graduate who received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from MSU in December.
RAYMOND--Senior communication/public relations major Michelle R. "Princess" Turner, the daughter of Genevia R. Turner and a Callaway High School graduate.
SUNFLOWER--Senior communication/theater Claude T. McKinney, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne McKinney and a Ruleville Central High School graduate.