Press Releases

Tickets Available for Three Weekend Performances

MANASQUAN, N.J. (February 20, 2017) - Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking play "A Raisin in the Sun" is next up in the Algonquin's Broadway Series.

Performances are on Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m. On Sunday, February 26, there will be a 3 p.m. matinee. A student matinee at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 24 is sold out.

Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot of "A Raisin in the Sun" revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena.

When Mama Lena's deceased husband's insurance money comes through, she dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. Walter Lee, a chauffeur, has other plans, however, including the independence of running his own liquor store. Beneatha dreams of medical school.

The tensions and prejudice that the family faces forms this seminal American drama.

Tickets start at $31 (including processing fees) and are available online at algonquinarts.org, by phone at 732-528-9211 or in person at the Algonquin Box Office (on the first floor) at 173 Main Street in Manasquan. The Box Office is open 12-6 p.m. weekdays and 12-4 p.m. on Saturdays, as well as 1 hour prior to each curtain. Seniors save $3 and students save $9 vs. a full-price adult ticket.

Director Darrell Lawrence Willis, Sr., returns to the Algonquin after directing a production of Hansberry's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" last season.

The Younger family will be played in this production by Bryan Morales-McGrath of Long Branch (Walter), Mahogany Reynolds-Clarke of Rahway (Ruth), Danielle Richards of Marlboro (Beneatha), Lorraine Stone of Asbury Park (Lena) and Linwood Nelson Jr (Travis) of Newark.

The cast includes Damien Berger of Roselle as Joseph Asagai, Travis Whitaker of Ocean as George Murchison, Bellamy Shivers of Neptune as Bobo, and Thomas Cox of Oceanport as Karl Lindner. Akil Billy of Long Branch and Ian Duhart of Plainfield also feature.

This Algonquin production of "A Raisin in the Sun" is sponsored by Eliot & Lorene Colon of Brielle.

"A Raisin in the Sun" has been featured on Broadway three times. The original 1959 cast featured Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeill, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands and Louis Gossett, Jr. The 2004 revival included Sean (Puffy) Combs, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad and Sanaa Lathan. Denzel Washington featured as Walter Younger in the 2014 revival.

When "A Raisin in the Sun" debuted on Broadway, Hansberry, then 29, became the youngest American playwright, the fifth woman, and the only African American to date to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year. It was the first Broadway play written by a black woman, and the first directed by a black director, Lloyd Richards.

ABOUT ALGONQUIN ARTS THEATRE
Algonquin Arts Theatre (AAT) is a 501c(3) non-profit center for performing arts, providing cultural enrichment and arts education for residents and visitors of Central New Jersey and the Jersey Shore through high quality performances and programs in theatre, music, dance and film.

Located in Manasquan, N.J., AAT is an integral part of the Shore Region, offering broad access to arts experiences across multiple disciplines. Deeply committed to education, AAT serves students of all ages not only through art and music instruction, but also through the unique communal conversation that exists between audience member and performer. The theatre provides a platform for local and regional performers to showcase their work and offers audiences the opportunity to engage very directly and personally in the arts, fostering greater participation and providing an engaging means for exploring personal and societal issues through the world of the stage.

Algonquin Arts Theatre's programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts / Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided by Manasquan Bank, the Paul F. Zito, M.D. Educational Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Freed Foundation, the PNC Foundation, the Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, the OceanFirst Foundation, the Investors Bank Foundation, the Provident Bank Foundation and the generosity of our patrons.

The theatre was voted New Jersey's favorite small performing arts center south of the Raritan River in 2015.