By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on April 07, 2014 5:08 PM
Kenny Leon Directs The Newest Broadway Hit Which Opened This Week, A Raisin In The Sun, Promises To Match The Original's Financial Success.
Kenny Leon Is The New Go-To Theatre Director
On April 3, 2014, a new revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre, the same house where the play ran in its first production.
Directed by Kenny Leon, who has become the go-to theatre director for African American content, the play received largely unqualified rave reviews from critics far and wide. With a superb cast led by mega movie star Denzel Washington as Walter Lee Younger, the production succeeded in proving the timelessness of Hansberry’s masterwork.
"A Raisin In The Sun" Second Revival
This is the play’s second revival on Broadway, following the original 1959 production. In 2004, Kenny Leon also served as director for the show. According to The New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley, Leon made new choices in the 2014 revival, justifying his return to directing the same play only a decade later.
He stated that this production “feels far more of a whole” than the 2004 revival, as the relaxed approach he takes in the new revival is emotionally very compelling. Furthermore, in 2012, Bruce Norris’ clever riff off of this play, Clybourne Park, played on Broadway to great acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the Tony Award for Best Play.
Leon's Broadway Success
The 2004 production of A Raisin in the Sun was the Broadway directing debut for Kenny Leon, who served as the artistic director of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company from 1988 to 2000.
Since his first Broadway credit, Leon has directed numerous Broadway shows featuring a primarily African American cast, including three plays by August Wilson: Gem of the Ocean in 2004-5, Radio Golf in 2007, and Fences in 2010, the last of which also starred Denzel Washington in a sold-out hit run.
"Holler If Ya Hear Me" Scheduled For Spring
Furthermore, he helmed The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett as well as Stick Fly, both in the 2011-2 fall season. Following A Raisin in the Sun, Leon will direct a second show also in this spring season, the musical inspired by the songs of Tupac Shakur, Holler If Ya Hear Me.
When Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun, she was the first African American woman to have a play produced on Broadway. The play was nominated for four 1960 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Direction. It was also named the Best Play of 1959 by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle.
"A Raisin In The Sun" Holds Promise
This new revival holds promise to match up to the success of the play’s premiere. In addition to receiving laudatory notices from a slew of major publications, the play is well on its way to entering financial profits. The play has reached 100% capacity for every week thus far, crossing the million dollar mark for its past two weeks of grosses, which is a serious feat for a straight play.
After all, Mr. Washington is not your average Hollywood star. He has consistently garnered well-deserved respect due to his extreme talent along with his humility, a rare combination at his level of fame.
