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
A Place in the Sun (film) A Place in the Sun (film) A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the 1925 novel "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser and the 1926 play, also titled "An American Tragedy". It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women: one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory, and the other a beautiful socialite. Another adaptation of the novel had been filmed once before, as "An American Tragedy", in 1931. "A Place in the Sun" was directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Michael