To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Portrait of Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words
Gough Street Playhouse (1620 Gough St San Francisco, CA 94109)
- Full Price:
- $20.00 - $28.00
- Our Price:
- $5.00 - $14.00*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Portrait of Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words have expired.
The last date listed for To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Portrait of Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words was Sunday May 27, 2012 / 7:00pm.
Currently at Gough Street Playhouse:
David and Amy Sedaris' Outrageous Comedy The Book of Liz
- Full Price:
- $20.00 - $35.00
- Our Price:
- $12.00 - $21.00
A sell-out hit for Custom Made Theatre Co. in 2011, and before that in 2009, The Book of Liz is a fast-paced, hysterical and sweet-natured comedy written by brother and sister duo David (NPR, Me Talk Pretty One Day) and Amy Sedaris (Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy). The Book of Liz is an outrageous parable about the zany adventures of Sister Elizabeth Donderstock, a devoted maker of cheeseballs who ventures out of the religious community of Clusterhaven for the first time and encounters a host of colorful characters including Ukrainians with cockney accents, restaurants run by recovering alcoholics, a certain talking peanut and her own self worth. But will her cheeseballs ever taste the same again? Learn More
Goldstar Member Tips
Accessible by public transportation, parking nearbyinfo • Feb 23 2013 star this tip starred
But bring a coat. It'll be a might chilly when the show gets out.info • Feb 23 2013 star this tip starred
Take public transport if possible. Parking in the neighbourhood is near impossible.info • Feb 23 2013 star this tip starred
There are several restaurants and bars within a few blocks.info • Feb 23 2013 star this tip starred
Get there early. If you sit up front, you'll feel like you're part of the playinfo • Feb 23 2013 star this tip starred
Reviews & Ratings
Featured review from Goldstar Member
view more less of this reviewI absolutely loved this play. The acting was superb. I am away from home and do not have my program here, so I cannot single out any particular actor, but they were all excellent. Lewis Campbell did a wonderful job directing this play.
star this review starred report as inappropriateThis is a must see show for anyone interested in theatre, black history and women's history. The ensemble cast perform well together. Scenes from A Raisin In The Sun, and The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window, as well as incomplete plays Les Blancs, What Use Are flowers, selections from Hansberry's novel All The Dark and Beautiful Warriors, and excerpts from letters and diaries tell the story of a gifted writer who was taken away from us way too early. Young writers and actors especially will benefit from Hansberry's inspiring writings. I was thoroughly entertained and educated.
star this review starred report as inappropriateMy son and I enjoyed this event. I enjoyed learning about the life and thoughts of Lorraine Hansberry. I was impressed with the passion of the actors. This was my first play at this playhouse, will go again.
star this review starred report as inappropriateI thought the play was very inspirational. The actors did an excellent job capturing several poignant periods in Lorraine Hansberry's life. When you attend the event, come with the expectation that this is a black box theater. This play is not meant to put on a razzle dazzle musical but to remind you that Lorraine Hansberry is an incredible writer and her timeless work speaks to today's generation.
More Information About To Be Young, Gifted and Black: A Portrait of Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words
Website
Description
Lorraine Hansberry was born in 1930 in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the South Side of Chicago. Her family later moved into a white neighborhood, where they faced racial discrimination. Lorraine attended a predominantly white public school while her parents fought against segregation. The legal struggle over their move led to the landmark Supreme Court case of Hansberry v. Lee (1940). Though victors in the Supreme Court, the family was subjected to what Lorraine would later describe as a "hellishly hostile white neighborhood." This experience later inspired her to write her most famous work, A Raisin in the Sun.
Hansberry attended the University of Wisconsin, but found college to be uninspiring and left in 1950 to pursue her career as a writer in New York. She worked on the staff of a Black newspaper called Freedom. It was at that time she wrote A Raisin in the Sun. It was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. It received the N.Y. Drama Critics Award, making Hansberry the first Black writer to receive the Award.
Lorraine Hansberry died on January 12, 1965, of pancreatic cancer at the age of 34. Her second play, The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window opened on Broadway in 1964 and closed the night she died.
About the Ticket Supplier: Custom Made Theatre Co.
Winner of the SF Bay Critic Circle award for Best Overall Play of 2012, The Custom Made Theatre Co. is a San Francisco-based not-for-profit theatre dedicated to ensemble-based, socially relevant productions. Custom Made is the managing company of the Gough Street Playhouse, an intimate thrust theatre without a bad seat in the house, where they present a five play season, along with numerous readings, workshops and classes. Most recently, Custom Made produced the Goldstar ROAR award-winning "Eurydice"
and the Bay Area Premiere of Christopher Durang's "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them."