We’re a cultured bunch here at Naked Philly, and recently had the chance to catch a performance of Clybourne Park at the Arden Theater. The play, written by Bruce Norris and recipient of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, examines a transforming neighborhood in both 1959 and 2009.
Scene from Act One
Act One describes the all-white neighborhood’s reaction to a white family selling their home to a black family, and examines racial tensions in 1950′s America. It’s implied that the family purchasing the home are the Youngers, from A Raisin in the Sun. In Act Two, the same house has fallen into disrepair as the decades have passed, but the surrounding neighborhood is experiencing rapid gentrification. A white couple has purchased the home and negotiate renovation plans with representatives of the neighborhood association.
Another scene, this time from
…