Meet the Cast of “A Raisin in the Sun”

The cast for A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play that changed the American theatre forever, features several actors you may recognize from previous SCR productions and many, who are making their first SCR appearances.

A Raisin in the Sun begins the American Icon series, which celebrates the artists, personalities and opinion-leaders who boldly changed our world. It runs Oct. 22-Nov. 12 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Tiffany Yvonne Cox makes her SCR debut as Ruth Younger. She has performed on regional stages across the country, including Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Santa Monica Repertory Theater and Ojai Playwrights Conference. She currently can be seen recurring on the Hulu show “Reasonable Doubt,” and is one of the leads in the Hallmark film Napa Ever After.

Ashembaga (Ashe) Jaafaru also makes her SCR debut as Beneatha Younger. She has been involved in theatre, film, movement and voiceover work in the Twin Cities and beyond since 2009. Her varied recent credits include for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf with Kansas City Repertory Theatre and Penumbra Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Black Ensemble Players.

Erròn Jay (Bobo/Others) makes his California theatre debut at SCR. Some of his many theatre credits include the world premiere of Harriet Jacobs at Steppenwolf Theatre and The Bacchae of Euripides at Gillioz Theatre. He is a professor of acting at AMDA’s LA campus.

Veralyn Jones (Mama) returns to SCR for the fourth time—you may have seen her in My Wandering Boy, Ben and the Magic Paintbrush or the 2019 production of A Christmas Carol. She is a resident artist and board member at A Noise Within. She is also the co-founder and associate/producer at Lower Depth Theatre and a longtime member of Antaeus Theatre Company and the Actors Studio.

C.J. Lindsey makes his SCR debut as Walter Lee Younger. He has recently appeared in August Wilson’s Jitney at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the West Coast premiere of Warren Leight’s Homefront and Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline at the Peterborough Players. He has also worked in both film and television, with a leading role in the 2021 film All the Men in My Life. He is a graduate of Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College.

David Nevell (Karl Lindner) makes his fifth appearance in an SCR production, having previously been seen in Shakespeare in Love, Peter and the Starcatcher, Arms and the Man and the recent Pacific Playwrights Festival reading of A Million Tiny Pieces. He has worked with regional theaters across the country, including Huntington Theatre Company and Utah Shakespeare Festival, and was a resident artist at Pacific Conservatory Theatre/PCPA.

Junior Nyong’o makes his SCR debut as Joseph Asagai. He is a recent MFA Acting graduate from UC San Diego (Class of ’23). His recent regional credits include King Lear at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, The Outsiders at La Jolla Playhouse and Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius, Twelfth Night and Shakespeare in Love at Orlando Shakes.

Tristan Turner returns to SCR as George Murchison after his recent debut as Roberto “Carpacho” Marin in the Outside SCR production of La Havana Madrid. He has previously appeared in the world premiere of Pru Payne at Arizona Theatre Company, Twelfth Night at Utah Shakespeare Festival and The Addams Family at 5-Star Theatricals.

Nathan Broxton makes his SCR debut as Travis, the youngest member of the Younger family. You may recognize him from his backseat renditions of Broadway songs that went viral on TikTok.

Mikayla Conley (Understudy) returns to SCR after appearing in Our Town and the 2022 Pacific Playwright’s Festival reading of how to roll a blunt. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and has been a part of the theatre arts for approximately 10 years. She was cast in multiple productions as a child, attended Debbie Allen Dance Academy and continued her dance training into high school.

Kaci Hamilton (Understudy) returns to SCR after appearing most recently in the Pacific Playwrights Festival reading of Crassis. Some of her recent roles include Mark Antony in Julius Caesar at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Tituba in The Crucible at Perseverance Theatre. Her autobiographical comedy pilot, A Jamaican in Alaska, was recently selected for the 2023 Stowe Story Labs June Narrative Lab and the 2023 Athena Film Festival Virtual Writers Lab.

Derrick A. King makes his SCR debut as an understudy. He is known for his starring role as Rev. Johnson in the CW’s “4400.” He has performed on a variety of platforms, including hosting the 2010 B.E.T. Black College Tour and starring in YouTube’s web series “College Boyfriends.”

Zalen Dociard King (Understudy) returns to SCR for the second time after appearing as Cal in last spring’s Voices of America production of The Little Foxes.He is currently honing his skills in UC Irvine’s MFA acting program.