Theatrical Outfit puts on 'A Raisin in the Sun'

Theatrical Outfit and Dominion Entertainment put on "A Raisin in the Sun" (Courtesy of Casey G Ford)

Theatrical Outfit will begin a new season of programming bolstered by the collaborative vision of Atlanta arts heavyweights.

The company is joined by Dominion Entertainment Group in a co-production of Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” which tells the story of a Black family in Southside Chicago struggling to make a better life.

Director Robert John Connor, executive producer of Dominion Entertainment, and Theatrical Outfit artistic director Matt Torney recently joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share more about their staging of this timeless story.

The two spent many hours working together to find a play that both organizations would be proud to put on. When they settled on “A Raisin in the Sun,” Torney says they both “felt… that we had found a piece that would really represent the missions of both of our organizations.”

The classic play explores intersectional identities at a time before the term had been invented through the lens of a very close-knit family with wildly different perspectives on life. “What unifies them is how they have to confront racism, both covert and overt,” explained Connor.

The play opens on Sept. 11 and will run to the 29th.