DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702260137

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THEATER REVIEW 

SOURCE: Montague Gammon III 

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

ODU PLAYERS' ``RAISIN IN THE SUN'' EFFECTIVE

The Old Dominion University Players serve well Lorraine Hansberry's historic drama, ``A Raisin in the Sun,'' with a sincere approach.

Hansberry's script, staged in 1959 when she was only 29 years old, was the first Broadway play written by an African-American woman. It chronicles events in the life of an African-American family who live in Chicago in the 1950s.

Widowed grandmother Younger and matriarch Lena shares the run-down three rooms and a kitchen in which she spent her married life with two generations of her family. Her 35-year-old son, Walter, and his pregnant wife, Ruth, along with their 10-year-old son, Travis, live with her. So does Lena's younger daughter, Beneatha (``Bennie''), 20.

Walter works as a chauffeur and Ruth is a domestic, as was her mother-in-law before her. Bennie is a pre-med student. When the show opens they await the arrival of a $10,000 check from the late Walter Senior's life insurance.

Walter, the son, wants to open a liquor store with the money, but the church-going Lena opposes the idea. He regards his mother's ethical opposition as yet another case where the forces of authority impede his chances to better his lot.

In the role of Walter, B.J. Campbell makes his perceptive, frustrated, well-meaning character easily accessible. Campbell has a clear focus on the man's helpless feeling and his forgivable self-absorption.

Tymberlee Hill is equally clear as Ruth, who is less confrontational than her husband. When the two performers work together, they give a believable picture of a long-standing partnership that has been damaged, but not destroyed, by a difficult existence.

Monique Cheri Kelley plays the rebellious Beneatha with appropriate fervor, without hiding her ability to enjoy a bit of adolescent frivolity. Tremyl Dorsett puts a lot of spirit into her performance as Lena, while Durmon K. Coates and Willie Peoples play Bennie's suitors, Asagai and George.

Jim Pitchford is particularly sharp in the part of Linder, a representative of the homeowner's association from the neighborhood where the Youngers plan to move. Pedro Abad turns in an emotionally charged performance as Bobo, one of Walter's drinking buddies and would-be partners.

The show lasts almost three hours, yet the ODU players hold the audience's interest so effectively, one is rarely aware of the length.

Chris Bailey designed an excellent set. Jefferson Lindquist directed, and Aisha Renee McCollum was his assistant. Konrad Winters did the lighting, and K. Dale White designed the costumes. Like the cast, they can take pride in their accomplishments.

The Old Dominion University Players serve well Lorraine Hansberry's historic drama, ``A Raisin in the Sun,'' with a sincere approach.

Hansberry's script, staged in 1959 when she was only 29 years old, was the first Broadway play written by an African-American woman. It chronicles events in the life of an African-American family who live in Chicago in the 1950s.

Widowed grandmother Younger and matriarch Lena shares the run-down three rooms and a kitchen in which she spent her married life with two generations of her family. Her 35-year-old son, Walter, and his pregnant wife, Ruth, along with their 10-year-old son, Travis, live with her. So does Lena's younger daughter, Beneatha (``Bennie''), 20.

Walter works as a chauffeur and Ruth is a domestic, as was her mother-in-law before her. Bennie is a pre-med student. When the show opens they await the arrival of a $10,000 check from the late Walter Senior's life insurance.

Walter, the son, wants to open a liquor store with the money, but the church-going Lena opposes the idea. He regards his mother's ethical opposition as yet another case where the forces of authority impede his chances to better his lot.

In the role of Walter, B.J. Campbell makes his perceptive, frustrated, well-meaning character easily accessible. Campbell has a clear focus on the man's helpless feeling and his forgivable self-absorption.

Tymberlee Hill is equally clear as Ruth, who is less confrontational than her husband. When the two performers work together, they give a believable picture of a long-standing partnership that has been damaged, but not destroyed, by a difficult existence.

Monique Cheri Kelley plays the rebellious Beneatha with appropriate fervor, without hiding her ability to enjoy a bit of adolescent frivolity. Tremyl Dorsett puts a lot of spirit into her performance as Lena, while Durmon K. Coates and Willie Peoples play Bennie's suitors, Asagai and George.

Jim Pitchford is particularly sharp in the part of Linder, a representative of the homeowner's association from the neighborhood where the Youngers plan to move. Pedro Abad turns in an emotionally charged performance as Bobo, one of Walter's drinking buddies and would-be partners.

The show lasts almost three hours, yet the ODU players hold the audience's interest so effectively, one is rarely aware of the length.

Chris Bailey designed an excellent set. Jefferson Lindquist directed, and Aisha Renee McCollum was his assistant. Konrad Winters did the lighting, and K. Dale White designed the costumes. Like the cast, they can take pride in their accomplishments. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: ``A Raisin in the Sun,'' by Lorraine Hansberry

WHEN: 8 p.m. today-Saturday

WHERE: University Theatre, 4600 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk

TICKETS: 683-5305

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