THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250483
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
``I'm using my vision. The Army is near.''
That was Yushawnda Thomas's only line onstage - until now.
It was a quickie scene for the Beaufort native, a scene from a West Carteret High School children's play.
These days, performing is more complex for the Elizabeth City State University junior, one of the featured players in ``A Raisin in the Sun.''
The University Players are presenting the Lorraine Hansberry classic in the Little Theatre on Nov. 1, 2, 3 and 5.
The production, a mix of laughter and tears which starred Sidney Poitier on stage and screen, is about the struggles and dreams of a black family in Chicago in the 1950s.
The New York Drama Critics. deemed it the best play of 1959.
Shawn Smith, ECSU's veteran director, likes it so well that this is the second go-'round.
``I saw it when it opened on Broadway,'' he said. ``I did it here in 1985. This year, I feel I have the right combination of players.''
They include Shaunell McMillan, recipient of rave reviews for his recent portrayal of Lenny in ``Of Mice and Men,'' and Dorothy O. Wills, impressive in another recent ECSU production, ``The First Breeze of Summer.''
She played a grandma in that one. In this one, she is a mama.
``I liked `Breeze' better. Here, the mama is stern but speaks softly,'' said Wills, the mother of three. ``In `Breeze,' I could yell as much as I wanted. This one, even when I'm angry - the script notes ``Mama quietly says.''
``For instance, I say - sit down. In real life I'd say SIT DOWN.''
Wills, a postal clerk at ECSU, says her character in ``A Raisin in the Sun'' reminds her of her mother and grandmother.
``She's strong, bossy, the family backbone,'' the Hertford native said. ``I can identify - except that I'm younger - 38. Still, the character is me up and down.''
McMillan thinks about his real-life mom and stage mom.
``My mom wouldn't put up with half the stuff my stage mom puts up with in this play,'' said the Fayetteville native, a sophomore. ``As for me, in the play, I'm trying to come into manhood. I have a lot of dreams, but I feel the world around me is holding me back.''
The critics did not hold back in praising ``A Raisin in the Sun.''
Frank Rich of the New York Times wrote that Hansberry ``posed all her concerns in a work that portrays a black family with greater realism and complexity than has ever been previously seen on the stage.'' ILLUSTRATION: THEATER PREVIEW
The University Players, Elizabeth City State University, present
``A Raisin in the Sun.''
WHEN: 8 p.m. Nov. 1, 2, 3, 5.
WHERE: The Little Theatre on the ECSU campus.
Tickets are $5 for the public, $1.50 for ECSU faculty and staff,
$1 for ECSU students. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Call
335-3436.
by CNB