14/06/2022
The Mayor's Office has collaborated with Punkin Pictures to create a modern and inspiring version of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” on June 18th at 7:00pm at the ArcBest Performing Arts Center. The owner of Punkin Pictures and Director of the play is a Fort Smith resident, Silvia D. Manning. Silvia, an accomplished actor and singer herself, has assembled a talented cast. Including three local actors and Grammy Award Winner, Mrs. Shirley Murdock as Lena Younger, Mama.
Lorraine Hansberry drew inspiration from her own experiences in Chicago in the 1930’s to pen the theatrical masterpiece that broke down racial barriers both on and off the stage. “A Raisin in the Sun” opened on Broadway in 1959 and, for the first time, hailed an all-Black principal cast, a Black playwright and a Black director. The play follows the three-generation Younger family as they grapple with different definitions of the American Dream, as well as, how to achieve it. When the matriarch, Lena, buys a home in an all-white neighborhood, the Youngers are greeted by thinly veiled racism and financial pitfalls that threaten to pull the family apart and push their dreams out of reach. The play received four Tony Award nominations and Hansberry was the first Black woman produced on Broadway.
togetherness and inclusion is a continuous theme for Mayor McGill and his Administration
: “A Raisin in the Sun” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, INC. www.concordtheatricals.com”