We wish we’d seen this play earlier and had the chance to shout to the rooftops about how much we loved it. It’s witty in a dreadfully clever way, and provoked our thoughts and emotions by using the cast in a novel, provocative structure. Set in Chicago, and dealing with “racism and real-estate,” Bruce Norris’ play won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and is headed to Broadway once this cast finishes its run here this weekend. Grab a ticket and head to the Mark Taper Forum (every seat in the house is great) and you’ll be happy to made the effort.
Norris set up his drama to echo A Raisin in the Sun, a play which broke color boundaries in its time and was written by a brilliant young African American woman, Lorraine Hansberry. (Hanseberry tragically died young, but learning about her story was part of the pleasure of seeing this play). The first act takes place at the same time as Raisin, in 1959 on the other side of town. And the second act of Clybourne Park takes the same cast and flips them to new roles in 2009 — in same house that played a central role in both Raisin in the Sun, and the first act of Clybourne. Click here for Charles McNulty’s review in the Los Angeles Times, and make haste to the Forum…
