Photo by Tom Wallace, courtesy of the Guthrie Theater
A Raisin in the Sun
Tonia Jackson (Lena Younger) and Anita Welch (Ruth Younger) in A Raisin in the Sun
After postponing its January run of A Raisin in the Sun due to the pandemic, the Guthrie welcomed its opening performance of the play on May 6 with success. This is the company’s first-ever in-house production of the Lorraine Hansberry classic, but it isn’t the first time Austene Van has directed this theatrical masterpiece.
Van, an acclaimed Twin Cities theater professional, co-founder of New Dawn Theatre Company, and producing artistic director at Yellow Tree Theatre, first directed the play at Lyric Arts in 2019. In a director’s cut video, she was asked what inspired her about the play, and gives credit to Hansberry—the first Black woman to be produced on Broadway. Inspired by her own family experience in Chicago in the 1930s, the play opened on Broadway in 1959 with an all-Black principal cast, a Black playwright, and a Black director. Just as Hansberry addressed, Van notes how relevant topics such as homeownership, education, and living the “American dream” are still relevant today as they were in 1959.
How did the opening weekend go? What were your thoughts and feeling before and after the show?
I haven't had a moment to be still, but it was absolutely thrilling to see it up on its feet. Especially since having it postponed was a bit soul-crushing. So, we had our first preview; we were all crossing our fingers. We had someone out of the show and an understudy came in. We had five previews, and every single one we were just counting down, and then the person came back—who's actually contracted to do the roll—to do the last couple of previews, and opened.
Something transformative and magical happened—I would even say divine. On opening night, everyone was grounded and still; they had wings. I was able to sit back and watch it, and not take notes. I was able to watch them listen and react. Because my head and my nose were in the grindstone, I got a chance to hear and see, sometimes for the first time that night. It was an experience I can't really describe. It was transforming.
This isn't your first time directing this play. Did the previous directing experience make the production at the Guthrie easier?
It did because I learned more about the play. I did more research, and, of course, you do that when you're starting production, you have your concept and design in your head. But, I remember it being a process when they needed a director now, so my prep time wasn't as long as this prep time with the Guthrie. But it was still an amazing experience with actors that were open, joyful, and very talented. And a great support system at Lyric Arts. So, it was a beautiful show and set, and wonderful costume.
Sam [Samantha Haddow] did the costumes for that show as well. So I got a chance to bring her along with me to the Guthrie. We got a chance to have BIPOC and women on my team and a wonderful mix of local designers and crew, as well as some figures outside of the Twin Cities area. So, that was absolutely thrilling. I love just looking at the diversity of my team. It was stunning and heartwarming to see women in leadership and people of color in leadership on my team.
In this version of A Raisin in the Sun, are there differences between your previous production at other companies?
This is not a new version, but there have been many versions that she [Hansberry] kept writing the show; there is even an unpublished film version. You really get to see the function of her mind and heart in that one and how she felt about all of these characters in the world around them—it's amazing. She had some addendums in some scenes that could be used or not used. There were two: One was when Travis is outside playing with the rats and the other one was the Mrs. Johnson scene and that was too much fun to leave out.
In a director's take video from Lyric Arts, you said “levity is important to drama.” This play seems to touch on issues that are still current like homeownership, education, and middle-class stability. What are some examples in the play that particularly showcase comedic humor?
Hansberry loved laughter; she liked clowns. And she's funny. She knew how to turn a phrase. In African American culture and I would say in a lot of our cultures, our BIPOC cultures, if you do not have a spirit to be able to duck over with the wings of joy, you're not going to make it. And historically, people of color have had to hang on to this type of spirituality—finding the provision and the midst of a problem. Otherwise, we wouldn't make it. Do we have an intestinal fortitude? It seems superhuman, but it's just very human and it is what it is. We often don't have time to cry. We can't stop for depression, we can’t stop to faint…we have to keep it moving. Your tools can be laughter, joy, and love, especially when you don't have certain materials or opportunities. What do you have? Family and that's what mama Lena [Younger] talks about.
In terms of people in your culture who have dealt with the pain of discrimination, prejudice, and oppression, you said you have to have joy. Do you think that Hansberry would say the same?
There are papers written by slave owners that talk about the joys of their people that are enslaved, and that they are happy that way. That is a device to make it easier for people to justify enslaving actual humans. But, I assumed that they did see this weapon of joy that they had to generate amongst themselves to keep us alive. She wrote it in there, the joy and love.
How brother and sister, Beneatha and Walter, play with each other; how Walter, when he feels good, plays with his wife; and how in the end, they find joy to move on even though they're moving into a neighborhood where there's going to be some trouble. It's there and you have to have it. I think laughter is medicine.
A Raisin in the Sun runs April 30–June 5. Tickets range $26–$80. Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Mpls., guthrietheater.org
