David Cromer to Join Denzel Washington and Diahann Carroll in A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway

Actor/director David Cromer (Our Town, Tribes, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The House of Blue Leaves) and young actor Bryce Clyde Jenkins (Easy A) will join the cast of the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, starring previously announced Tony winners Denzel Washington and Diahann Carroll. The revival will begin previews at the Barrymore Theatre on March 8 and open on April 3. The production, directed by Tony nominee Kenny Leon, will play a 14-week limited engagement through June 15.

Cromer will play Karl Lindner, a representative of the neighborhood the Youngers plan to move to, and Jenkins will play Travis Younger, Walter and Ruth’s sheltered young son. The cast of A Raisin in the Sun will also feature Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo as Ruth Younger, Tony winner Anika Noni Rose as Benethea Younger, Stephen Tyrone Williams as Joseph Asagai, Jason Dirden as George Murchison and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Bobo.

An American classic, A Raisin in the Sun takes place in the late ‘50s in a south side Chicago apartment, chronicling the lives of the members of an African-American family. Matriarch Lena (Carroll) plans to buy a home in an all-white neighborhood when she receives a hefty insurance check. Her son Walter (Washington) dreams of buying a liquor store and being his own man, and her daughter Beneatha (Rose) dreams of attending medical school. The tensions and prejudice they face create the drama in this beloved play.

The classic work premiered on Broadway on March 11, 1959, and earned four Tony Award nominations including Best Play as well as acting nods for stars Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil. A 2004 revival, also directed by Leon, won Tonys for Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald.