Black Theater and its Relevance: The Plays of August Wilson and Lorraine Hansberry (AMSTUD 158C, TAPS 158W, TAPS 358W)

This course will examine the plays of two of the most important playwrights of contemporary American theater, August Wilson and Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is a classic set back in the 1950's. the play still has resonance to today. Wilson is the only American playwright to attempt and complete a cycle of plays on Black life in each decade of the 20th century. He is concern ed with the impact of the past on the Black American present. Sadly, both of these playwrights died much too soon from cancer - Hansberry at age 34 and Wilson at 60. We will read and discuss the work of these playwrights comparatively and singularly. We will also watch and critique film versions of key plays and documentaries in each playwright. We will explore the works in their historical context as well as review how they operate in performance. We will examine and analyze how these plays constitute American family drama and why their works still have relevance today.