Clybourne Park and Raisin in the Sun, reviewed by Ann-Sophie Störmann

A Raisin’ in Clybourne by Ann-Sophie Stormann

Two nights. Two plays. One story. Boring? No!

Everything starts on a turning stage at 7.30pm at the BU Theatre with the play “ A Raisin’ in the Sun”, which is about a black family moving into a white neighborhood and their conflicts and views about money and life. The turning stage gives you the possibility to see different rooms and areas of the house, which makes you soon feel included in the story. Through funny little joke and great acting the serious topics of Race, family and money were amazingly covered.

Based of that, “Clybourne Park” made the experience the next day to perfection.

            “Why are Napoletans called Napoletans?” That’s the question Bev (Paula Plum) asks her husband to start of the play. Both are trying to get over the loss of their son who committed suicide after he was a soldier in the war. Followed by a lot of conversations about that and funny, daily situations she talks to her husband Russ (Thomas Derrah), Karl Lindner (Michael Kaye), Francine(Marvelyn McFarlane), Albert (Delance Minefee) and the Priest Jim (Tim Spears) about the fact that a black family is moving into their house. Everything ends in a big conflict about that, but it is still acted out in a very funny and interesting way. The second half starts. The same house, 50 years later. After generations of black families, now a white family wants to move into the neighborhood and change everything completely. The same actors, acting as different characters now, show a discussion with an architect about the new rules about height and look of the houses..There is an older woman, the white couple and a black couple. You’ll soon recognize the different perspectives of black and white. The families try to come to a conclusion, but they will never really get there, because they end up telling each other jokes about their races and it all ends in a huge conflict about race, stereotypes and manners. The closing scene takes us back to the past, when Bev is coming down the stairs while Russ is reading his son’s “Good Bye Letter”. The son, who is sitting on a bench in the room, is watching and talking to his father. He is there, although he is dead, what will remind you of the dead grandfather in “A Raisin’ in the Sun”, who is dead, but still on the stage watching the happenings. The dead soldier played an important part in “Clybourne Park”. His death was the reason why Bev and Russ moved out of the house and his suicide is also the reason for the new young white lady to be scared of living in this house. Based of his death a lot of conflicts develop and although the soldier is only in the play at the very end he still has a big part in it and influences it a lot. It is the same for the grandfather in “ A Raisin’ in the sun”. He is basically just sitting on the stage the whole time watching the conflicts and expressing his feelings through his face, but he is never saying a word. He is not even mentioned in the program or the script, but still all the conflicts are based on him, on his money. It is very interesting to see common patterns like this in Clybourne Park and Raisin’ in the Sun.

            Through phenomenal acting, great design and a completely amazing direction both plays were serious as well as funny and definitely worth it seeing!