A Raisin in the Sun October 19, 1959, and closed on June 25, 1960, after 530 total performances. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the cast comprised: Ossie Davis later took over as Walter Lee Younger, and Frances Williams as Lena Younger. Waiting for the curtain to rise on opening night, Hansberry and producer Rose did not expect the play to be a success, for it had already received mixed reviews from a preview audience the night before. Though it won popular and critical acclaim, reviewers argued about whether the play was "universal" or particular to African-American experience. It was then produced on tour. "A Raisin in
What Is a Man Without a Moustache? Times" had also expressed opinions of a divided nature. He called the film "pleasant if inconsequential", offered an opinion that it contains "good-natured sensibility" and a "slightly fabulous tone" while still feeling like "magic realism, without the magic", and concluded his review by stating that "the pleasant pointless of it all is laced with a tantalizing tease of allegory suggested by the dialectical twins and the strain of mellow nationalism in the dialogue." Reviewing the film for "TV Guide", Maitland McDonagh awarded the film three stars out of four calling it "sardonic" and "absurdist". What Is a Man Without a