Theater fans may have heard of the new Broadway-bound play Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, which is a modern-day response to Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking A Raisin in the Sun, about a black family that integrates a white Chicago neighborhood. Without having seen it, it sounds like an intriguing continuation of some of the issues at play in the original, which is now onstage in a Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production here.

In case you’ve somehow never seen Hansberry’s powerful piece, it centers on the Younger family, living in a South Side Chicago tenement of the late 1950s. As the play opens, all the members, for different reasons, are eagerly anticipating the arrival of an insurance check for $10,000—money due to them upon the death of the family’s father, and money which can radically change their lives for the better, depending on whose decision for its use prevails.
For daughter Beneatha (Dhakeria Cunningham), it’s a chance to go to medical school. For her brother Walter (Will Little), embittered by his job as a white man’s chauffeur and hungry for his independence, it’s an opportunity to open his own business. For his hard-working wife Ruth (Jasmine McAllister), it could provide a real home, one where her young son Travis (Bryson Gregory) would have a real bedroom, instead of sleeping on the couch. And for family matriarch Lena (Alice B. Gatling), the money could both honor her late husband’s memory and give her family a future.

For the play’s first act, these dreams—long deferred, as in the Langston Hughes poem that inspired the title of the piece—are discussed, with some context provided by Beneatha’s two beaux, the wealthy George (Emmanuel Avraham) and the Nigerian activist Joseph (Joseph Nwankwo). But it’s in the second act when the definitive action occurs, as one of the Youngers’ potential new white neighbors (David Abolafia), comes to visit with an offer that threatens to divide the family even further.

More than 50 years after its debut, Raisin is still relevant and compelling, and the cast, under the direction of Jim Weaver, rises to the task of presenting this family with all of its flaws and dignity intact. Gatling (who’s been seen with both FST and WBTT here before) is no surprise in her strength and presence, but other cast members may be more of a revelation to audiences. Cunningham, who’s been seen in smaller roles elsewhere, is totally believable as Beneatha, struggling to choose not only between men but between destinies; McAllister is touching as a mother who quietly goes about her endless chores without complaint, but finally gets a chance to express her own buried emotions at the prospect of a real home.

As Walter, Little has the challenging job of making us see the suffering behind a character who is sometimes far from likable. Occasionally his more dramatic scenes feel a little forced, but we care enough about him to stick with him on his painful journey. And that goes for the rest of the Younger family as well.

A Raisin in the Sun continues through Feb. 19; for tickets call 366-1505 or go to wbttsrq.org.

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No matter how successful any theatrical piece has been—and Les Misérables has certainly been über-successful by any definition—there always exists the opportunity to revisit and refresh what has become a classic production. Producer Cameron Mackintosh seized that opportunity a few years ago to create a 25th anniversary production of Les Miz, which is now onstage in a touring show at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa.

Longtime fans of the original need not fear that the characters, the story, the songs or the passion of the show have been altered. Mostly, this production differs in its design and staging, especially of several crucial scenes, and in its orchestrations. The latter may not seem that different to most laymen’s ears; the designs (by Matt Kinley, based on the paintings of Victor Hugo himself—who knew this protean writer also painted?) fit seamlessly into the background. It’s the staging changes that most audience members may notice, but not in any negative way. More about that in a minute.

Of course Les Misérables still opens with a prologue establishing the identity of one of the most famous prisoners of all time, Jean Valjean (J. Mark McVey), sent down for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s family. Released on parole with an admonishment by his steely nemesis, Inspector Javert (Andrew Varela), Valjean immediately finds out that the world does not welcome a convict, even a hard-working one, and when given the chance to steal silver from a kindly bishop, he does so. But the bishop’s forgiveness of his act, and his urging for Valjean to seek a new, better life, change the embittered man into one with a faith in God and human kindness.

Of course, that faith is severely tested throughout this epic tale, as he encounters the doomed Fantine (Betsy Morgan), who’s turned to prostitution to support her child, Cosette; finds himself time and time again face to face with a relentless Javert; and eventually becomes connected to a band of students and street people trying to the fight the Paris revolution of 1832. As you might expect from any production with the name Cameron Mackintosh attached to it, the cast is of the first order, including Jeremy Hays, properly charismatic as the student leader Enjolras; Richard Vida and Shawna M. Hamic as the larcenous Thenardiers; and Chasten Harmon as the lovelorn Eponine, whose feelings for Cosette’s beloved, Marius (Max Quinlan), lead her to her tragic destiny.

So, back to the staging . This production utilizes video projections by Fifty-Nine Productions, and they are dramatic and impressive indeed. Chances are you won’t miss the well-known turntable in the Act I closer, as the cast gathers the night before revolution; the way the scene’s backdrop seemingly moves backward and the ensemble forward is just as effective. And you may find the climactic sewer scene and Javert’s suicide by the Seine (you’ll really feel his descent into the void) even more compelling than you remembered.

In any case, you certainly shouldn’t be disappointed by this retooling of a beloved classic; the opening night audience acclaimed Les Miz with its usual prolonged standing ovation. The production continues through Feb. 12; for tickets call (813) 229-7827.

No one chooses whom they fall in love with, and once they’ve fallen, it doesn’t mean perfect understanding of the object of their affections. That’s certainly the case with Luke and Adam, the couple at the center of Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall, now onstage at Florida Studio Theatre. They’re both gay, but they’re very different personalities, with very different ideas about faith and religion.

That’s a clash well demonstrated in the play, which starts off with a really big crashing sound offstage. We find out soon enough what has just happened, as we see several characters interacting in a hospital waiting room. Luke (Kevin Cristaldi) has been hit by a car, and as his life hangs in the balance, we go back and forth in time to different stages of his relationship with Adam (Jason O’Connell). They meet cute, as cater-waiter but budding actor Luke chats up the nervous, older Adam, a frustrated, hypochondriac would-be writer working at a candle shop. We may not be quite certain what Luke sees in Adam at first, but over time we grow to accept their feelings for one another.

The conflict that sparks Nauffts’ interest? Luke is a Christian, a believer in God who sees being gay as sinning but also believes he’ll go to his own version of paradise anyway. And he wants Adam, an atheist, to be there with him—which means Adam would have to make a leap of faith he just can’t negotiate. Add to this that Luke has never told his divorced parents—the formerly hard-partying Arlene (Judith Hawking) and the appropriately named Butch (Phillip Clark), both Bible-thumping Southern conservatives—about his sexual orientation, and the tension escalates.

Nauffts rounds out his roster of characters with self-proclaimed “fag hag” Holly (Katherine Michelle Tanner), a sympathetic and helpful type, and Brandon (Kenajuan Bentley), a seemingly buttoned-down businessman whose own motivations and relationship with Luke remain something of a secret until late in the play. There’s lots of humor here despite the traumatic situation, and the cast under the direction of Kate Alexander successfully runs the gamut of emotions they’re called upon for.

It took me a while to really believe in and care about the characters, though, which may be partly due to a certain New York-centric atmosphere or attitude. There may also be a feeling at times that these people are being manipulated by the playwright to ensure he presents his issue thoroughly.

By the end of the evening, though, I was won over by the genuine heart of the play and by watching the characters cope with love and loss. Next Fall continues through March 31; call 366-9000 or go to floridastudiotheatre.org.