O.C. THEATER / MARK CHALON SMITH : Reviving Bittersweet ‘Raisin’

“A Raisin in the Sun” startled Broadway in 1959. Promptly crowned the quintessential play about the so-called “black experience,” Lorraine Hansberry’s drama became something of an icon for changing times.

But once the radical ‘60s were at full throttle, a curious thing happened. Upstarts like the Black Panthers and stage groups with political agendas belittled it, calling “Raisin” a too quaint, too compromising, too melodramatic vision of black Americans.

Hansberry may have been talking about progress, they sneered, but where’s the revolution?

Now, of course, “Raisin” has found a more comfortable niche. Clearly a work of its time--an era when Negro was an acceptable term and the ideal of integration was far more elusive than it is even today--the play is important nonetheless, for both historical and theatrical reasons.

Talk to the director and the cast of the Alternative Repertory Theatre’s revival of “Raisin” and that comes through. The drama, which opens tonight and continues at the Santa Ana playhouse through March 5 in recognition of Black History Month, is still much respected, even revered. George C. Wolfe may have parodied it lustily in “The Colored Museum,” but they’ll have none of that at ART.

“It exposed the black experience in ways that hadn’t been happening before, whether in the theater or anywhere else,” said director Barbara Covington, an ART veteran. “It took African Americans out of the stereotypes (perpetuated in the media) and showed their truth.

“It has a universal appeal that deals with dreams, honor and integrity (and) it certainly was the first play to have brought the white (theater) community out to see something about what was going on in black lives.”

There’s no disputing that “Raisin” broke through with a big clap. The piece, which premiered and ran for 530 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, was voted the Best Play of the year by New York critics. Hansberry, who died five years later, was the first black and only the fifth woman to win the award at the time.

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The drama turns on the $10,000 Lena is expecting from her late husband’s life insurance. Lena, the salt-of-the-earth mother of the Younger clan, wants to use the money to move her family out of their Chicago ghetto and into a white suburban housing tract. She foresees the problems with such a headstrong decision, but doesn’t care--her children will have a better life, no matter what.

Lena’s son Walter Lee, however, has a different plan. His dream is to be his own boss, so he intends to use the cash to buy a liquor store. Considering who Walter Lee is dealing with, it’s a risky, even dangerous proposition.

His supportive wife, Ruth, isn’t sure which way to turn. Then there’s Walter Lee’s sister, the proud, smart, independent Beneatha, who dwells on her African roots and hopes to become a doctor.

In discussing “Raisin,” Robyn Hastings, who plays Ruth, agreed that Hansberry was portraying a specific period in black history, but added that the drama reaches beyond its original time frame.

“I think it’s special because I can’t really identify (any other play) that chronicles the black experience from that period,” she said. “It’s the time after the migration from the South when blacks moved up to the North during the industrial revolution. Lena (and her husband) were probably the first or second generation of that migration and it chronicles their struggles in the North.

“Also, Hansberry’s classic writing stands up through the years. She wrote a classic of theater in terms of characters.”

Stefanie Williamson, in the role of Beneatha, pointed to the family’s aspirations and willingness to struggle for what they believe as a resonant lesson today, when many people are facing hard days.

“Each person has their dream and you never want to give up the dream and you never want to stop dreaming,” she said. “In this play, you see people who have stopped dreaming but pick it up after awhile; each character has a different way that they deal with their dreams.”

While Covington may not have dreamed about directing “Raisin,” she has admired it for several years, placing the piece in the company of seminal American works like Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”

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Still, her decision to direct came with anxiety. Covington, who is white, wasn’t sure she could bring the right mix of cultural experience and technical expertise to the production.

“I think directing is a twofold job (and) one of those is knowing the right rhythms and where to focus,” she explained. “I felt comfortable about that (but) I felt I had to depend on the actors, that I needed a real collaboration when it came to exposing (African American-oriented) themes. If I was doing something wrong, believe me, they told me.”

The give-and-take, according to those involved, apparently worked on the set. The black actors credited Covington’s flexibility with helping to generate a productive environment.

“I did, quite frankly, have some thoughts about a white director, not from a racial standpoint, but because this piece is so entrenched in African American traditions and culture,” Hastings said. “My concern was would a person of European descent have a handle on that.”

But Covington was willing to learn, added Jacquelyn Levy, who plays Lena. “She has been very open, (asking questions like) ‘What are you guys talking about?’ and ‘Tell me what this means,’ ” said Levy. “So we translate and she says, ‘That means that?’ ”

* The Alternative Repertory Theatre’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” opens tonight at 8 p.m. Performances continue Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. at 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Through March 5. $13.50 and $16. (714) 836-7929.