author: Lilou Von Kokoro
I honestly haven’t ventured into the city in many years. But on the last day of summer, I spent the evening at Spotlighters Theatre, located in Baltimore City on St. Paul Street, seeing A Raisin In The Sun, written by Lorainne Hansberry, as directed by Rain Pryor.
Spotlighters definitely has an intimate feeling especially with its theater in the round staging. The crowd that night was small but you could feel the anticipation. Words to describe the night—
Intense.
Raw.
Brilliant.
Exhausting.
From the start, these talented actors brought the raw emotion and the intense interaction depicting their family dynamics and conflicts. This was the constant during the almost three-hour performance. Amazed at their collective energy.
The set design (Gray Hemphill, Justing Nepomuceno) was intuitive and classic as was the music throughout the performance (sound design Kai DonDero.) The light design (Jen Sizer) was perfection in capturing the mood of each scene.
So now let’s talk about some of these unforgettable characters Ifedapo Samuel Davis… What a brilliant young man. He not only was adorable but so much fun to watch and note how attuned he was with his character of Travis.
Sharon Carter Brown as Mama Lena Younger, what a presence on stage! She OWNED, even without saying a word, that she was the Matriarch of her family and her intentions for making a better life for them and herself.
ReginaGinaG Summers as Ruth embodied the struggles and desires of women in that era including the roller coaster ride of being a mother and being married to Walter Lee Younger… Brilliant.
Now let us talk about Aaron Watkins that portrayed Walter Lee Younger. Oh boy… You nailed it… even though your character somewhat redeemed himself by the end, I was not liking you at all (not liking Walter, lol, not the actor!) since the moment he spoke. And that’s what was so incredible about Arron Watkins’ performance. I will admit that I was quite partial to Vanessa McNair and her depiction of Beneatha Younger. I loved her energy and range with the evolution of Beneatha during that short view into the Younger homelife. So very relatable and so much fun to watch.
A Raisin in the Sun was quite intense from start to finish but incredible to witness. A talented cast that is so in sync with each other and delivers a performance that leaves you spellbound. Don’t miss the opportunity to see A Raisin in the Sun showing at Spotlighters Theater this weekend thru October 13Th 2024. Well done again to director Rain Pryor, the cast and creative team!
Running Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes with two intermissions
A Raisin in the Sun plays through October 13th 2024 at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre— 817 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 752-1225 or purchase them online.
