I’ve been to a lot of live theater in my lifetime, and while I enjoy much of it, I generally prefer opera for the sheer emotive power song brings to a story. With Joe Wilson‘s performance in the Trinity Rep’s production of Raisin in the Sun, I felt uncomfortably close to
the emotion of the story, as if I were watching reality television and Mascagni converge right on stage. The staging and blocking removed the audience from the comfort of a boxed in proscenium and brought us into the home and hearts of the characters.
This play remains as powerfully relevant an American story as A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman, and the performances by this cast were so rich and real and engaging that I remain grateful for and amazed by the power they put into the play. To think that Lorraine Hansberry was only 29 when she wrote the work is astounding.
If you’ve seen other versions, you should catch up. If you haven’t seen this canonical work, you’ll be better for it, and this cast will give you an experience that will make your hair stand on end.
This is what live theater should be.