LORRAINE HANSBERRY AUDIO COLLECTION A Raisin in the Sun, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, and Lorraine Hansberry Speaks Out

This production begins with Hansberry's play, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, which is followed by an autobiographical montage, and interviews and speeches recorded between 1959 and 1964. The work sheds light on Hansberry's regrettably short but passionately lived life of the mind. Both the play and autobiographical patchwork comprising the second piece ("To Be Young, Gifted and Black") are powerfully performed by the resonant, memorable voices of James Earl Jones, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis, among others. But the most astonishing voice of all is Hansberry's own, so cool and articulate, especially when interviewed by a testy-sounding Mike Wallace, who questions her winning the New York Drama Critics’ Circle award. Hanberry's poise under fire, eloquence, and fiercely held convictions will linger in listeners' minds. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]