Circiter | Featured on Campus
A
Raisin in the Sun
T
he theater program was extremely busy this fall with two fully produced performance weekends in the Robert and Charlotte Asen Theater. On November 5 and 6, Groton proudly presented A Raisin in the Sun, the critically acclaimed 1950s drama by AfricanAmerican playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The cast was led by theater program veterans Zach Nicol ’11 and Nya Holder ’12 (the dynamic duo at the center of last fall’s Pippin), Denia Viera ’12, and Malcolm Johnson ’12, and rounded out by several newcomers to the Groton stage, Ysis Tarter ’11, Michael Corkrum ’11, Andrew Ryu ’11, and Alexis Ciambotti ’14. This was the first production of A Raisin in the Sun in Groton’s history, and it marks the School’s growing dedication to expanding cultural perspectives on campus. Director Laurie Sales confessed, “This was undoubtedly the most important piece of theater I have worked on in my entire career as an educator,” and she credits the students with “remarkable courage and drive to bring the words on the page to life.” Audiences received the gritty work of these fine young actors with instantaneous standing ovations at both performances.
Inset: Ruth Younger played by Ysis Tarter ‘11 talks with her son Travis, played by Jaden Cheeks. Below: Ms Lidner played by Alexis Ciambotti ‘14 explains the Clybourne Park Improvement Association to Walter Lee Younger (Zach Nicol ‘11), Ruth Younger (Ysis Tarter ‘11), and Beneatha Younger (Denia Viera ‘12).
16 | Quarterly Winter 2011