Reverse the Curse: A RAISIN IN THE SUN

 This past Wednesday night marked a miracle: Liesl Tommy finally opened a Huntington show on schedule. Liesl’s previous two Huntington Openings were canceled –from a huge snowstorm January 5, 2011 (Ruined) and because of the Back Bay Blackout in March 13-14, 2012 (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). But the third time is a charm, and A Raisin In The Sun went off without a hitch!

To be fair, rehearsals for this production were delayed by a half-day due to the Blizzard of 2013 (an actor got stuck across the country), and then last Friday’s snowstorm arrived on the run’s first preview. It’s been a nerve-wracking month to say the least, but we made it through, and if the reviews pouring in are any indication, Liesl has done some tremendous work on this production. 

Which of course is no surprise to us. We love Liesl and her work, which is why we keep having her back in spite of the bad luck that seems to follow her to Boston.

Celebrating with Liesl tonight: the cast, Huntington staff, Trustees, and Overseers, Jon Abbott (WGBH), Karen Holmes Ward (WCVB), Rep. Gloria Fox, Attorney Wendell Taylor (Huntington Overseer), and Cambridge resident and Director of the Lorraine Hansberry Trust Joi Gresham. Gresham was Hansberry’s widower’s step-daughter, grew up in the playwright’s house after her death, and was greatly influenced by her work. Here's a picture of Liesl and Joi before the show on Wednesday night:

A Raisin In The Sun (which, incidentally, celebrated the 54^th anniversary of its Broadway debut on Monday) runs through Sunday, April 7 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. The Boston Globe calls it, "A shattering production [that] reminds us how fully and richly Raisin continues to reverberate....All the passion Hansberry poured into her play comes surging through in the performances by Tommy's ensemble." Tickets are still on sale, but they're going fast, so don't miss out!

Introducing #Twittermission

As Twitter has continued to grow in popularity, there's been a lot of talk in the theatre world about how to integrate it (and other social media platforms / smartphone apps) into performances. Many of you have probably already heard or read about "tweet seats," and the ensuing conversation / backlash around that. But as our Artistic Director Peter said, "from the moment the curtain goes up to the moment it comes down, the art on stage is all the engagement the audience needs. That onstage moment you miss to read or send a tweet could be the one that sends chills up your spine, stirs you with empathy, or sends your imagination wild."

So instead, we've found another way to get involved — but of course, we're going to need your help (hence the "social" part of "social media). Enter: #Twittermission. What's that? I'm glad you asked (he says rhetorically). At select performances, we'll be opening up our Twitter account to an artist, designer, stage manager, or other face behind-the-scenes who will field questions from the audience and answer them in real-time during intermission. The conversation will be displayed on the video monitors in the lobby of each of our theatres, allowing our audience to follow along. And if you don't have a ticket for the performance that night, you can still follow along with us live on Twitter. Think of it as another way to keep the conversation going after the curtain's gone down (and for those of you unfamiliar with Twitter -- our tweets will all be public, so you can still follow along without signing up or having an account of your own). If you're not able to follow along live, the conversation will remain archived on our Twitter feed, so you can go back and read through it any time you'd like!

We'll be hosting our inaugural #Twittermission this Wednesday, January 30, at the 7:30pm performance of Invisible Man. Video / Projection Designer Alex Koch will be on hand to answer your questions, whether they're about the production in general, the integration of video/media into live performance, Pedro Martinez's new position on the Red Sox (hey, he's a Cambridge native), or anything else. Feel free to ask your questions ahead of time as well — we'll compile all your questions and answer them throughout each intermission, making sure to tag your twitter handle in the response (unless you ask us not). Just make sure that you direct your tweets to the @Huntington and include the hashtag #Twittermission.

Sincerely crossing my fingers in the hope that this works,

Thom Dunn

Web and New Media Manager