[Fips Was There...] Raisin in the Sun At The Gallery Players

Pictured (l to r): Kwaku Driskell and Ross Johnson in The Gallery Players’ production of A Raisin in the Sun. Photo by Bella Muccari.We here at FIPS spend a hell of a lot of time out and about in Brooklyn, attending outdoor concerts, comedy shows and various other events. So [FIPS Was There...] is where we're gonna' talk about all this shit.

Lately there's been some fierce debating going on Park Slope, and it’s not just the members of the Food Co-op who were just featured on The Daily Show. I’m talking about the Younger family of Chicago’s Southside, currently taking up residence at The Gallery Players in their production of A Raisin in the Sun.

This production of Lorraine Hansberry’s American classic, inspired by Hansberry’s own experiences growing up Black in Chicago, runs through this weekend. The details of the plot are surely familiar to most who have sat through a high school American literature course: Tempers flare as the Youngers each propose what should be done with the $10,000 life insurance check they’re about to collect. Walter Lee (Kwaku Driskell) wants to invest in a liquor store. Beneatha (a lovely Brittany Bellizare) wants to use the money to pay for her medical school. Lena (Hope Harley) wants to move the family out of the two-bedroom, basement apartment they share and into a house.

It had been a few years since I had last experienced this work, and I’m happy to report that this production reminded exactly why I like it. Hansberry imbues her characters with such specific, articulate voices that it’d be impossible not find each one compelling. Even the minor characters have meaty dialogue to sink into. Joseph Asagai (Arthur James Solomon, grinning so broadly you might wonder if his cheeks hurt), for example, first comes off as simple -- not at all the boyfriend you might hope Beneatha would have. But Mr. Solomon skillfully switches on his worldliness halfway through the second act. Watching Ms. Bellizare’s Beneatha get schooled by Asagai is riveting. Other smaller players also deliver skillful performances, including Gregory Cohan, who has the unfortunate circumstance of playing the least likable character in the script (he repeatedly refers to the Youngers as “You People”), yet manages bring out shadings of guilt I wasn’t expecting.

Ultimately, though, the show rests on the shoulders of its Lena and Walter Lee, and Ms. Harley and Mr. Driskell deliver. Ms. Harley has a charming, maternal warmth that can turn authoritative when necessary. Mr. Driskell brings a bitter energy to his Walter Lee, turning up the volume on the anger beneath his drunken surface. At times I wished he had dialed back just a little bit (I’m a big fan of the angry whisper), but it’s a minor qualm with a performance that ultimately works.

Technically speaking, this production is well-rendered and handsome. Casha Jacot-Guillarmod’s functional apartment set is the backdrop for all of the action in this play. The Youngers constantly diss the apartment and talk about the rats and roaches they just can’t get rid of, but to my Brooklyn eyes it was actually a pretty nice place. My guest and I later discussed whether or not scenic designers should consider regional norms when designing such sets. But let’s not open too much conversation on that, as I don’t think the neighborhood can handle the potential for another divisive vote anytime soon.

The production also provides a great chance to see the play that inspired Clybourne Park, which is currently in previews on Broadway and may have some Tony Awards in its future. So go, and spend a few hours with the Younger family. You might already know them, but they’re waiting to take you back into their arms and show you exactly what happens to a dream deferred.

A Raisin in the Sun is running at The Gallery Players (199 14th Street, between 4th and 5th Ave) through this Sunday. Shows tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm. $14-18. Visit their website for ticket information or call 212-352-3101. And check out this video of the cast and crew talking about this production: