A new house, a liquor store, or a college education? The Younger family has quite a decision to make when they receive the life insurance money following Mr. Younger Sr.'s death. This decision was explored in Maplewood Richmond Heights' recent production of "A Raisin in the Sun."

Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play, inspired by the Hansberry v. Lee lawsuit her family fought to move into an all-white neighborhood, just like the Youngers do in "A Raisin in the Sun." In 1959, it debuted on Broadway. The show is set in Chicago sometime around the 1950s. The title was taken from a line in the famous poem "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. The theme's message still rings true today, that dreams must be pursued to give life meaning.

The show began with a reading of "A Dream Deferred," which set the tone nicely. The promotion of the show was impressive; a slickly edited video incorporating stills and video clips was sent out, and the posters had professionally taken photos of the leads. Overall, the cast brought a youthful energy to a solemn play.

The show centers around Lena Younger (played by Jazmyn Epps) and her family. Epps brought gravitas to the role, as well as nice delivery of comic lines. Chris Dubose gave an excellent performance as Walter Lee Younger, Lena's son, as did Morgan Patterson-Gill as Walter Lee's wife, Ruth Younger. Dubose's performance in the scene where he describes to his son their future was especially heartfelt. Patterson-Gill gave a lasting impression as Ruth, and was a real standout. She is very good at pretending to faint, as well -- when she did so in one of the opening scenes, I was briefly worried she was actually hurt!

This play is mostly a serious one, but Brianna Jones brought some welcome comic relief to the role of Beneatha Younger. She had great energy, and some hilarious dance moves as well. Lans Davis gave a solid performance as Joseph Asagai, and seemed to have quite a few fans in the crowd. Caleb Tiggs as George Murchison shone, despite having one of the smaller roles.

The set was one of the finest elements of the show. It drew me in and made me feel as though I was a fly on the wall of the Youngers' home, as well as being true to time period and very detailed. The costumes also added to the overall authenticity, and fit the actors well.

All in all, Maplewood Richmond Heights gave a satisfying performance of A Raisin in the Sun. They took the question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" and appended, "What happens to a dream achieved?"