'A Raisin in the Sun" endures for good reason. Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play — the first by a black woman on Broadway — features several meaty roles and enough dramatic momentum to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
No wonder stars are drawn to this classic, even when they aren't necessarily right for it. Ten years ago, Sean Combs (a k a Puff Daddy) picked "Raisin" for his Broadway debut.
Now it's Denzel Washington who's the driving force behind this latest revival. Some wondered whether the 59-year-old was too ripe for Walter Lee Younger, a chauffeur in his mid-30s (amped to 40 in this version, to lessen the gap).
Well, Washington's certainly believable.
More important, as he proved a few years ago in "Fences," the star is a terrific team player who thrives among other great actors.
As a result, this first-rate production — efficiently directed, like the 2004 one, by Kenny Leon — is a Broadway bull's-eye. It captures the play's passion, pathos and intelligence, without stinting on Hansberry's dry humor.
A genuine theatrical animal, Washington is very much at ease here. He prowls the stage as a man who dreams of escaping the Chicago "beat-up hole" he shares with his extended family. Walter has his eye on the $10,000 insurance payment his mother, Lena (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), received after his father's death — enough to go in on a liquor-store deal with some friends.
Lena doesn't see it that way. For starters, she's keen to help Walter's younger sister, Beneatha (Anika Noni Rose), pay for medical school.
But what Lena really wants is to put a down payment on a real house — which happens to be in a white neighborhood.
The play has a few dated elements, but mostly it remains uncommonly effective. Hansberry packs in a lot of issues without being didactic: The plot is driven by the characters and their choices.
And the cast makes the most of the opportunity.
In her Broadway debut, Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda") is deceptively subdued as Walter's wife, Ruth, who embodies the bone-breaking hardship of poverty. Rose ("Cat on a Hot Tin Roof") has a luminous energy as Beneatha, who wants to better herself without being accused of being an "assimilationist."
And Jackson steps away from the long shadow cast by her husband, Samuel L., portraying a woman who just won't give up on her family or her principles — watch the way she puts the atheist Beneatha in her place, making her repeat, "In my mother's house, there is still God."
With a production of this quality, nobody will grumble about "vanity project" this or "star vehicle" that: Like the Youngers, the show makes its case loud and proud.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Washington leads spirited cast in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ revival
Dengan url
http://makananrasaenak.blogspot.com/2014/04/washington-leads-spirited-cast-in-aa.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Washington leads spirited cast in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ revival
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Washington leads spirited cast in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ revival
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar