History Theatre / ARaisinInTheSun

Notable for being the first play written by a black woman, as well as the first with a black director, to be shown on Broadway. Despite Hansberry's worries, the play was a huge success, and would have probably become the author's big break had she not suffered an untimely death from cancer a few years afterwards. It has been adapted several times, most notably as a 1961 theatrical film (directed by Daniel Petrie and starring most of the original Broadway cast, including Creator/SidneyPoitier, Claudia [=McNeil=], and Creator/RubyDee), as well as MadeForTVMovie productions in 1989 and 2008, and the 1971 {{musical}} ''Raisin''.

* BigBadDuumvirate: There's not truly a big bad in the story, but Karl Lindner and Willy Harris are the main sources of conflict in the story for the family in the third act. Karl Lindner is the head of a community group in the neighborhood the family is planning to move into who has come to tell the Younger as politely as possible that he and the other residents don't want an African American family in their all-white neighborhood and is willing to bribe them out of it. Willy Harris is the supposed best friend of Walter and Bobo, and the the three of them are planning to go into the liquor store business together with the rest of the Younger family's life insurance check and Bobo's life savings. But Willy double crosses them and flees town with their money.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Played straight with [[spoiler:Ruth, who gets a down payment on an abortion when she finds out she's pregnant, but she ends up keeping the baby when the family gets a bigger house]].

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Willy Harris is not revealed to have any commeupance for stealing from Walter and Bobo.]]

* MenAreBetterThanWomen: Lena is rather dismissive of Beneatha's ambitions to be a doctor, even though she does set a portion of the inheritance aside for her tuition, but then she gives it all to Walter to deposit it. Walter himself then takes all of the money to invest in the liquor store, clearly feeling that his aspirations are more important than Benetha's.

* AffectionateParody: ''Clybourne Park'', a PerspectiveFlip and a sort-of DistantFinale.

* IdiotBall: Mama giving all of the money to Walter, rather than at least giving Benetha her own portion for her tuition, and Walter for giving it all to Willie.

* FaintInShock: Ruth faints from stress in the first scene. [[spoiler:Her [[PregnancyFaint pregnancy also contributes]].

* {{Fainting}}: Ruth does this in the first scene. It comes as a result of stress [[spoiler:and pregnancy]].

Notable for being the first play written by a black woman, as well as the first with a black director, to be shown on Broadway. Despite Hansberry's worries, the play was a huge success, and would have probably become the author's big break had she not suffered an untimely death from cancer a few years afterwards. It has been adapted several times, most notably as a 1961 theatrical film (directed by Daniel Petrie and starring most of the original Broadway cast, including Creator/SidneyPoitier, Claudia [=McNeil=], and Ruby Dee), as well as MadeForTVMovie productions in 1989 and 2008, and the 1971 {{musical}} ''Raisin''.

* FalseFriend: Willy Harris to Walter Bobo. He tricks them both into giving him a good amount of their money so he can get a liquor store set up for the three of them to do business together, but quickly flees town with the dough.

* MoodWhiplash: The Youngers are quite pleased with themselves for not stooping to taking bribe money from the racist Karl Lindner to keep out of the all-white Clybourne Park... but shortly afterwards [[spoiler: Bobo comes and tells Walter that Willy has fled town with all of the money they gave him to invest in the liquor store...which included the money that Walter was supposed to deposit in the bank for Beneatha's education as a doctor. The mood turns quite solemn.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The Youngers are quite pleased with themselves for not stooping to taking bribe money from the racist Karl Lindner to keep out of the all-white Clybourne Park... but shortly afterwards [[spoiler: Bobo comes and tells Walter that Willy has fled to town with all of money they gave him to invest in the liquor store...which included the money that Walter was supposed to deposit in the bank for Beneatha's education as a doctor. The mood the mood turns quite solemn.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The family is quite pleased with themselves for not stooping to taking bribe money from the racist Karl Lindner to not move to the all-white Clybourne Park..but shortly afterwards [[spoiler: Bobo comes and tells Walter that Willy has fled to town with all of money they gave him to invest in the liquor store...which included the money that Walter was supposed to deposit in the bank for Beneatha's education as a doctor. The mood the mood turns quite solemn.]]

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mr. Lindner plays with this. He has no personal animosity towards the Youngers and never utters a single slur, but he goes along with the neighborhood's plan to bribe the family into keeping out of it because that's what's expected of him. The Youngers don't think of him any better than they would an overtly racist character.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Mr. Lindner plays with this. He has no personal animosity towards the Youngers and never utters a single slur, but he goes along with his town's plan to bribe the family into keeping out of it because that's what's expected of him. The Youngers don't think of him any better than they would overtly racist characters.

* SayMyName: In the movie, Walter repeatedly calls out Willy's name after [[spoiler:finding out he's disappeared with the money.]]

* TheUnfavorite: Beneatha. It seems no matter how much Walter screws up, Lena is determined to coddle him, while Beneatha is treated with derision, despite being a hard-working student with aspirations to be a ''doctor'' (a major accomplishment for a black woman even today, much less back then)

* DespairEventHorizon: Both Walter and Mama pass this when [[spoiler: Willie Harris makes off with the money]]. Bobo too, as he tells Walter, "I had my life staked on this deal, too."