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TULSA, Okla.–In an interview with the Black Wall St. Times, the creator of Black Broadway Tulsa, fresh off a production of “A Raisin in the Sun,” shares why he’s chosen to make the city his permanent home.

Imagine traveling 1500 miles from California to a place where you have never been and have no family to be a founding member of a program that pays you to move to their city to be part of the community for at least one year.

For Obum Ukabam, it has been five years since he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s a founding member of Tulsa Remote and one of the first Black members to take the journey to Tulsa to be a part of the rapidly growing community and city.

“I stayed in Tulsa because of the community, first and foremost, because of the opportunities to increase my quality of life while also helping to increase others’ quality of life in the community. I love to serve, and I love to work with kids,” Ukabam told the Black Wall Street Times.

Ukabam founded Black Broadway Tulsa along with the late Justin Daniels. The two shared the vision of bringing theater to Tulsa’s youth and primarily Black and underserved communities.

The company debuted its flagship show, “A Raisin in the Sun,” in late September and the first weekend of October.

Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” and it debuted in 1959, with a film adaption in 1961 starring Sidney Poitier.

The play is about a Black family in Chicago in the 1940s who are trying to improve their lives after the death of the family patriarch. The play explores themes of racism, housing discrimination, and assimilation and how the family’s dreams are affected by their financial situation.

How much a dollar cost?

Ukabam portrayed Walter Younger, a 35-year-old man grieving his father’s death while desperately trying to lift his family out of poverty. As a chauffeur for wealthy white men, Walter sees the life he wants but can’t attain. He believes the $10,000 insurance check from his father’s death will finally change everything.

Walter plans to invest the money in a liquor store, but his mother, Lena, wants to use it for a down payment on a house in a white neighborhood. Walter’s wife, Ruth, supports Lena because they need more space for their son, Travis, who sleeps on the couch. Meanwhile, his sister Beneatha dreams of using the money for medical school.

As the tension over the insurance money builds, each character’s desires and motivations come to the forefront, highlighting the complex dynamics within the Younger family.

While Walter’s ambition drives the central conflict, Lena, Ruth, and Beneatha each play pivotal roles in shaping the family’s future.

Their differing perspectives on the use of money reflect their dreams, values, and struggles, adding depth to the story and intensifying the emotional stakes of the play.

How the Black Broadway Tulsa Cast Brought Emotion to Life

Each character brings deep emotion to the play. Walter, feeling overlooked, constantly seeks validation as the man of the house and resents that no one listens to him.

Nicole Billups, who played Lena, shared that she drew from personal grief, having lost her uncle just before rehearsals.

“I felt like at least working through the grief of that in real-time while I was working on the show, I felt like that was also something that was kind of in line with Lena,” she told the Black Wall Street Times

Though Billups is only 32, she embraced the mother role with the support of director David Harris.

“As far as Lena being younger, I was like, I have seen this woman before, and I think a lot of us have been raised by this woman before, or met this woman before. So, there was a lot, at least within my own personal family, that I felt like I could pull on,” Billups added.

Anna Joie, who played Ruth, spoke about the emotional weight of her role.

“Every night was a very emotional experience, and I think that speaks a lot to, first of all, the incredible writing on Lorraine’s part, and second of all, just the great directing that we had from David Harris.”

Anna added that Harris created a safe environment for the actors to explore their characters’ emotions and bring them to life.

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Student-focused initiative

The play was held at Maya Angelou Theater in Central High School, Tulsa Public School’s Fine Arts School.

Harris mentioned that it was really important to ensure that these students were exposed to high-level theater and performing arts.

Black Broadway Tulsa co-founder Obum Ukabam plans to take his students to see a play on Broadway in New York City, with the community’s support, donations to the plays, and donations to the actors and crew.

Their next play is “Waiting to be Invited.” It will run from October 3 to 6, 2024. Visit Blackbroadway.org to purchase tickets.

Eddie Washington grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, matriculating through Tulsa Public Schools. He graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Journalism. He was a contributing writer for the OU...

2 replies on “Black Broadway Tulsa debuts powerful performance of “A Raisin in the Sun””

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