The award-winning play “A Raisin in the Sun” is coming to the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center for a limited time starting Nov. 13, officials said.

Written by Lorraine Hansberry, College of the Canyons Theatre Department officials described the play as a domestic tragedy that centers around a family struggling under oppressive circumstances.

“I’m excited to be able to offer this classic American play to our students and community members,” said Susan Hinshaw, the play’s director and COC theatre faculty member. “It’s an important chapter of American history which still resonates deeply today.”  

The title of the play is a reference to the poem “Harlem: A Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes, which explores what happens when dreams are ignored or postponed.

COC theatre students comprise the entire cast and crew of the production, which is set to run from Nov. 13 through Nov. 22 in the Black Box Theater at the PAC.

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“The play was eye-opening in the 1950s and is still relevant today for individuals and families of all diversities,” said COC theatre student Renee Poignard, who is set to play family matriarch Lena Younger.

A retired senior and adult re-entry student pursuing a degree in theatre, Poignard said she feels a special connection with her role.

“I am so proud to be playing Lena (Younger), an African-American mother and grandmother,” she said, “and proud of myself as a senior who is fulfilling my dream of going back to college.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, call the PAC box office at 661-362-5304 or click here.