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In The News
Sept. 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"A Raisin In The Sun" Opens
at CSUDH’s Edison Theatre on October 12
Carson, CA –The
California State University Dominguez Hills Department of
Theatre Arts is pleased to announce its opening play of the
2007-08 season. Lorraine Hansberry's classic, “A Raisin
in the Sun,” will open October 12 and run through October
26.
“A Raisin in the Sun” tells the story of the
Younger family— Mama, the matriarch, her adult children,
Beneatha and Walter, and Walter’s wife and child, Ruth
and Travis — all squeezed into a one-room apartment
on the south side of Chicago and dreaming of a better life.
The conflicts that arise from Walter's dream of opening a
liquor store, Beneatha's dream of becoming a doctor, and
Mama's dream of buying a house leave the family wondering
if all these aspirations might not become "deferred" and
left to dry up.
When “A Raisin in the Sun” premiered
in 1959, it became the first play written by an African
American playwright
to appear Broadway. The production met with critical acclaim
during its original 15-month run, receiving a New York Drama
Critics Circle best play award and four Tony Awards in 1960:
best play, best actor (Sidney Poitier), best actress (Claudia
McNeil) and best director (Lloyd Richards). A 2004 Broadway
revival starring Phylicia Rashad also received Tony Award
nods, with Rashad taking home the best lead actress award
and Audra McDonald the best featured actress award.
“A Raisin in the Sun” was first performed at
CSU Dominguez Hills in 1978. This latest production is being
staged in association with the Black Theatre Program at CSUDH
and directed by associate professor of theatre arts Donis
Leonard, who started the Black Theatre Program in 1999 to
illuminate the black experience through arts and culture.
The play will be performed in the university’s intimate
70-seat Edison Studio Theatre.
Leading the cast as Walter Lee Younger
is Adrian Thomas, a professional actor with a number of
stage and film credits
to his name. Thomas will be attending Dominguez Hills in
spring 2008 to complete his degree in theater arts. He will
be joined on stage by retired CSUDH English professor Joyce
Johnson, playing Mama Younger; current CSUDH students Denise
Groce, Petal Walker, Freddie Davis, Alexandra Clark and Treasure
Davis; CSUDH alumni Tiffany Cousin (’02), Phil Bray
(’03), Antwan Herron (’04), Erik Grady (’04),
and Samuel Simmons (’05); and Long Beach Renaissance
High School student Taj Stewart as Travis. Stewart is a sophomore
and already has a number of acting credits to his name, including “The
Bernie Mac Show” and “Reba.”
CAST
Ruth Younger...............Tiffany Cousin
Travis Younger.............Taj Stewart
Walter Lee Younger...... Adrian Thomas
Beneatha Younger........ Petal Walker
Lena Younger (Mama)... Joyce Johnson
Joseph Asagai............. Antwan Herron
George Murchison......... Samuel Simmons
BoBo.......................... Phil Bray
Ms. Johnson................ Denise Groce
Karl Lindner................. Eric Grady
Understudies Freddie Davis, Alexandra Clark, Treasure Davis
Performances will take place weekends
Oct. 12 to 21, with Friday and Saturday shows at 8 p.m.
and Sunday shows at 2
p.m. The shows on Thursday, Oct. 25, and Friday, Oct. 26,
will be at 8 p.m. Individual ticket prices are $12 or $10
for students and senior citizens. Special group rates are
available for groups of 10 or more. Season subscriptions
are $35 or $30 for students and senior citizens. Tickets
may be purchased by calling (310) 243-3589. Online ordering
is also available at www.zaptix.com (browse “California”).
The University Theatre complex, which includes the 475-seat
University Theatre and the more intimate Edison Studio Theatre,
is located on the campus of CSU Dominguez Hills off Toro
Center Drive/Tamcliff Street at Victoria Street in the city
of Carson. Metered parking lots are within walking distance.
Permits are $3 and can be purchased at yellow kiosk machines
near each lot.
For more information, call (310) 243-3588.
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About
Department of Theatre Arts -- Accredited by
the National Association of Schools of Theatre and
with memberships in the California Education Theatre
Association and the Southern California Educational Theatre
Association, the CSUDH Theatre Arts Department stages
major theatrical productions each season in either its
485-seat University Theatre or the more intimate 70-seat
Edison Studio Theatre. In addition to producing actors
and actresses, the department also educates students
to be part of the community. Through its Teatro Dominguez
multicultural theatre company students take on leadership
roles in touring original and ethnic shows to local K-12
schools; its Black Theatre Program provides courses,
touring shows and workshops that illuminate the black
experience for people of all ages and ethnicities; and
the newly formed Dominguez Bridge Theatre Company creates
and produces original plays that tell the story of the
surrounding communities.
About
CSU Dominguez Hills -- California
State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse,
urban university located in the South Bay, primarily
serving the
Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself
on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered
environment.
Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology,
business administration, and digital media arts, new degree
programs include computer science, criminal justice,
recreation and leisure
studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus
is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex
that hosts
world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and
cycling.
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