NCW Libraries

"Never before, in the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of Black people's lives been seen on the stage," observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959.
This edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.
Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling,...

"The setting is Lousiville, Kentucky in the 1970s. The Telfairs are four generations of an African American family of stonemasons. Ben Telfair has given up his education to apprentice himself to his grandfather, Papaw, a man who knows that 'true masonry is not held together by cement but ... by the warp of the world.' Out of the love that binds these two men and the gulf that separates them from the Telfairs who have forsaken--or dishonored--the family...

"Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, James Ijames' Fat Ham reinvents Shakespeare's masterpiece in startling and hilarious ways amidst the backdrop of a family barbecue in the American South. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in...

"Roland Dahwen's debut feature tells the story of an immigrant family in Oregon whose life is disrupted when it's revealed that the father has a second family. Reeling from this news, his wife Leonora must choose to either leave her husband, her dying mother, and her son, who has a mysterious illness--or to move on, and let her husband take responsibility for the family he's destroyed. Haunted by memories, Leonora now struggles between her desires...

Locked away from the world by her mother who has convinced her she has a chronic illness, teenaged Izzy finally escapes into town for some expected rebellion. A night of drinking and high school cruelty unleashes a new kind of hunger within her, but when she goes to her mother for answers, she keeps them tightly guarded, not knowing Izzy's true nature is about to burst forth and devour everything.

Fighting for her own life and the ones she loves, a mother in New Mexico sinks deeper into her addiction while struggling to surface for her daughter.

On the run from the law, Madea hides out at Bam's house, thinking she will lie low. Unfortunately, Bam's house is packed with rambunctious family and friends, and Madea finds herself needing to lay down her own law and drop the hammer.

Set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida, and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, this film traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family, led by a well-intentioned but domineering father, as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a loss. A heartrending story about the universal capacity for compassion and growth even in the darkest of times. "Tyler...

A love story about divorce. A marriage coming apart and a family coming together. A hilarious and harrowing, sharply observed, and deeply compassionate film from writer-director Noah Baumbach. Charlie is a charismatic New York theater director wedded to his work. Nicole is an actor who is ready to change her own life. Their hopes for an amicable divorce fade as they are drawn into a system that pits them against each other and forces them to redefine...

Devoted wife Ruby drops out of medical school after her husband Derek receives an eight-year prison sentence, and struggles to find the courage to remain faithful and supportive as the demands of being a prison wife weigh heavily on her shoulders.