On this day in 1959, “A Raisin in the Sun” debuted on Broadway, making history as the first play produced by a Black woman, Lorraine Hansberry. Starring Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil, the play was inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem (‘A Dream Deferred’)” and depicted a struggling Black family in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood.
Originally titled “The Crystal Stair,” it was Hansberry’s first play after leaving her writing job. Despite being a debut work, it ran for 530 performances and was widely acclaimed.
Hansberry became the first Black playwright and the youngest American to win a New York Critics’ Circle Award, cementing her legacy as a groundbreaking voice in American theater.
