tracking pixel
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Lorraine Hansberry Headshot

Lorraine Hansberry

Date of Death: January 12, 1965 (34)

Birth Place: Chicago, IL, USA

read more news

Get Lorraine Hansberry Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Photos

Productions

Kicks and Co.
 
[Broadway, 1961]
Director

Writing

Les Blancs
Playwright
Raisin
Source Material

Movies

National Theatre Live: Les Blancs
[ 2020 ] writer

Awards and Nominations

Tony Awards - 1960 - Best Play

Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1959 - Best American Play

Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

Videos

More Videos

News


LES BLANCS Comes to Oakland Theater Project Photo
LES BLANCS Comes to Oakland Theater Project
by Stephi Wild - Jun 11, 2025

Oakland Theater Project will stage Lorraine Hansberry’s final play Les Blancs (The Whites), adapted by Robert Nemiroff and directed by James Mercer II.
The Leah Ryan Fund Announces The 2025 Winner Of The Leah Photo
The Leah Ryan Fund Announces The 2025 Winner Of The Leah
by A.A. Cristi - May 23, 2025

The Leah Ryan Fund has announced the winner of the 2025 Leah Prize, Amalia Oliva Rojas's In The Bronx Brown Girls Can See Stars Too (or The F*ck Is You Lookin' At?) In Rojas's play four young girls are forced to take a communication workshop in the hopes of avoiding juvie.
Camille A. Brown Will Direct West Coast Premiere Reading of SWEET LORRAINE Photo
Camille A. Brown Will Direct West Coast Premiere Reading of SWEET LORRAINE
by Stephi Wild - May 21, 2025

Celebration Theatre, in partnership with City of West Hollywood and Los Angeles LGBT Center's Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center will present the West Coast Premiere reading of sweet lorraine.
Charlene Adhiambo and Amy B. Tiong Named 2025 Recipients of The Hansberry-Lilly Fello Photo
Charlene Adhiambo and Amy B. Tiong Named 2025 Recipients of The Hansberry-Lilly Fellowship
by Chloe Rabinowitz - May 16, 2025

Graduate students Charlene Adhiambo and Amy B. Tiong have been named as the 2025 recipients for the Hansberry-Lilly Fellowship. Learn more about the Fellowship and the recipients here!
Which Shows Have Been Revived the Most in the 21st Century? Photo
Which Shows Have Been Revived the Most in the 21st Century?
by Jennifer Ashley Tepper - May 11, 2025

Three of this season’s plays and two of this season’s musicals are already getting revived for the second or third time this century! Twenty-five years into the 21st century and Broadway has already seen multiple revivals of Glengarry Glen Ross, Our Town, Romeo and Juliet, Gypsy, and Sunset Boulevard. 
Atlanta Community Theatre Summer Preview Photo
Atlanta Community Theatre Summer Preview
by Joseph Harrison - May 9, 2025

What better way to cool off on a hot, Atlanta summer evening (or afternoon!) than taking in one of these exciting productions, coming to a community theatre near you! Check out all the amazing theatre that Metro Atlanta has to offer this summer!
THE LAST FIVE YEARS, ONCE, and More Set For NextStop Theatre 2025/26 Season Lineup Photo
THE LAST FIVE YEARS, ONCE, and More Set For NextStop Theatre 2025/26 Season Lineup
by Stephi Wild - May 2, 2025

NextStop Theatre Company has announced its 2025/26 season—the first fully programmed by Producing Artistic Director, Heather Lanza, who joined the company in the fall of 2024.
Penn State To Present Premiere Of TRUE CRIME FRANKENSTEIN Photo
Penn State To Present Premiere Of TRUE CRIME FRANKENSTEIN
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 30, 2025

Penn State will present the premiere production of the musical True Crime Frankenstein or the Modern, Modern Prometheus June 12-15 in the Penn State Downtown Theatre.
Video: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Talks PURPOSE and Directing Husband Samuel L. Jacks Photo
Video: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Talks PURPOSE and Directing Husband Samuel L. Jackson in THE PIANO LESSON
by Josh Sharpe - Apr 8, 2025

LaTanya Richardson Jackson is back on Broadway in Purpose, and the actress recently visited Sherri to discuss her experience in the show, as well as to reveal what it was like to direct her husband, Samuel L. Jackson, in The Piano Lesson. Watch the interview now!
Video: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Shares What She Wrote on New Sardi's Portrait Photo
Video: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Shares What She Wrote on New Sardi's Portrait
by Josh Sharpe - Mar 27, 2025

LaTanya Richardson Jackson joined The View on Thursday to discuss starring in the new play Purpose, her new Sardi's portrait, and more. Watch the interview!
Review: A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Taproot Theatre Photo
Review: A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Taproot Theatre
by Jay Irwin - Mar 27, 2025

Dear Readers, in the past I’ve talked about plays that are essential for your theatrical education, plays that are just good for you. If those fluff plays out there are candy, then these essentials are your vegetables. Once such play is Lorraine Hansberry’s Pulitzer Prize winning classic from 1959, “A Raisin in the Sun”, considered by many to be one of the best plays written. But there’s nothing saying that these essential plays can’t be entertaining, as is evident in the current production at Taproot Theatre. They’ve expertly given us our veggies but cooked them to perfection and given some delicious seasoning or sauce to make it all go down well.
Photos: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Receives Portrait at Sardi's Photo
Photos: LaTanya Richardson Jackson Receives Portrait at Sardi's
by Bruce Glikas - Mar 27, 2025

LaTanya Richardson Jackson, currently starring on Broadway in Purpose, was recently honored with her portrait at the iconic Sardi's. BroadwayWorld was there for the unveiling and you can check out photos here!
Headlong's A RAISIN IN THE SUN Now Available to Stream on Digital Theatre+ Photo
Headlong's A RAISIN IN THE SUN Now Available to Stream on Digital Theatre+
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 21, 2025

Headlong’s new staging of A Raisin in the Sun by director Tinuke Craig is now available to stream on Digital Theatre+. Learn more about the production and see how to stream.
Chicago Theaters Centering Women's Stories This Women's History Month Photo
Chicago Theaters Centering Women's Stories This Women's History Month
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 12, 2025

Choices abound for audiences looking to celebrate the stories of women this Women’s History Month on stages all throughout Chicagoland.
Cast Set For QUALIA at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol Photo
Cast Set For QUALIA at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 27, 2025

In April, Significant Productions will present QUALIA - By Ashleigh Ann Gardner, as the fourth and final production of the 2024/2025 Season at The Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol. Learn more and see how to purchase.
DINNER WITH THE YOUNGERS to be Presented by Carrie's TOUCH Photo
DINNER WITH THE YOUNGERS to be Presented by Carrie's TOUCH
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 25, 2025

Dinner with the Youngers, an immersive theatrical experience inspired by A Raisin in the Sun, will make its way to Los Angeles in March. Learn more and see how to attend.
Meet the Cast of PURPOSE, Beginning Previews Tonight on Broadway Photo
Meet the Cast of PURPOSE, Beginning Previews Tonight on Broadway
by Stephi Wild - Feb 25, 2025

Steppenwolf’s Purpose begins previews tonight, February 25, ahead of an opening on March 17th, and running through July 6, 2025 at the Helen Hayes Theater. Meet the cast of Purpose here!
A RAISIN IN THE SUN Extended at Court Theatre Through Late March Photo
A RAISIN IN THE SUN Extended at Court Theatre Through Late March
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 18, 2025

Court Theatre will extend Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is a portrayal of a family’s fight for dignity and the right to dream. Learn more and see how to attend.
Bonnie Milligan, Beanie Feldstein and More Nominated for 2025 Helen Hayes Awards Photo
Bonnie Milligan, Beanie Feldstein and More Nominated for 2025 Helen Hayes Awards
by A.A. Cristi - Feb 11, 2025

Explore the 2025 Helen Hayes Awards Nominees, including standout performances by Bonnie Milligan and Beanie Feldstein. The awards will be presented on Monday, May 19 at an event at The Anthem. The nominations are for productions in the Washington, DC, region in the 2024 calendar year.
Denzel Washington is Suffering From a Tongue Injury Ahead of Broadway Return in OTHEL Photo
Denzel Washington is Suffering From a Tongue Injury Ahead of Broadway Return in OTHELLO
by Stephi Wild - Feb 10, 2025

Denzel Washington is returning to Broadway this month. However, Washington has revealed that he has been struggling ahead of his Broadway return due to a tongue injury that has made it difficult to talk.
More News

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Lorraine Hansberry written?

Lorraine Hansberry has written 6 shows including Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Bookwriter), To Be Young Gifted and Black (Playwright), Les Blancs (Playwright), The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Playwright), Raisin (Source Material), A Raisin in the Sun (Playwright).

What awards has Lorraine Hansberry been nominated for?

Lorraine Hansberry has been nominated for several awards throughout her career. She was nominated for Best Play at the Tony Awards for her work on "A Raisin in the Sun." Additionally, she was also nominated for the Best American Play award at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for the same production, "A Raisin in the Sun." These nominations recognize her exceptional talent and contributions to the world of theater.

What awards has Lorraine Hansberry won?

Lorraine Hansberry has won the Best American Play award from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for her play, A Raisin in the Sun.

Get Lorraine Hansberry Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos