Sean Combs (P. Diddy) portrayed Walter Younger's character in 2006 in the famous play,Raisin in the Sun. I don't think he succeeded as much as Sidney Poitier and Danny Glover with Walter's role. He wasn't my favorite actor because he didn't show much emotions. I don't think that he did a good job portraying Walter because he didn't complete the true depiction of Walter's character. Sean Combs didn't depict a man who was totally dissatisfied with his life and at the point of lying on his knees full of sadness and desperation. For example, in the scene when Bobo told him that the money was gone, he only twitched a little and frowned. I saw no anger or frustration by volume, pitch or gestures. Sean Combs relied more on background music, still, Danny Glover was able to take the role of Walter Younger perfectly without any background music present. Sean Combs did well in some arenas: he had good connection with characters by making eye contact and hand gestures and he did a good job of making the play a little more modern. Still, Danny Glover had him beat because he was a lot more animated. When Sean Combs got on his knees and depicted a slave looking up to his master, he didn't have any facial expression v.s. Danny Glover who was satiated with hopelessness.
Sidney Poitier portrayed Walter Younger's character in 1961 in the famous play, Raisin in the Sun. Not only is this version of Raisin in the Sun old and dated, but the acting from Sidney made it also seem even more unrealistic. In the overall play, Sidney Poitier was very overly animated and melodramatic that he made the story become unbelievable. Unlike, Danny Glover's version, Sidney Poitier's version wasn't very relatable. When he argued, he spoke very fast. For example, on the scene where he argued with his mother about getting money by not moving into the house she bought, I could barely understand what he was saying because of his accent and short pauses between sentences. He didn't pause long enough to put emphasis on what he was saying. Danny Glover did it perfectly; he took pauses to add emphasis to what he was saying at the perfect moments, instead of talking extremely fast in any argument scene, like Poitier did. In the scene when Bobo told Walter that Willy Harris ran off with his money, Sidney Poitier connects with the character, Bobo, by slapping him out of anger and frustration. It was extremely horrible because he used too much facial expressions, hand gestures and his connection with characters seemed unrealistic. I found this original to be less realistic in certain scenes. Still, he did such a good job with being animated by using facial expressions and changing his pitch that it didn't quite fit Walter Younger's character and seemed over the top.
Danny Glover portrayed Walter Younger's character in 1989 in the famous play, Raisin in the Sun. The range of emotion expressed by Glover's portrayal is un-expectantly, powerful and awe-inspiring! He used a lot of facial expressions and hand gestures. You could feel the anger welling up in Danny Glover until his whole body was shaking from the inside. Glover portrayed Walter Younger perfectly, as a man full of grief, shame, and disappointment. I believe he gave a stunning performance as Walter Younger, capturing all the idealism and naiveté of the character and combining them with his astute racial awareness. He was very animated, using a great combination of facial expressions and hand gestures. For example, in the crying scene, when he realized that he lost all of his money, his pitch was getting higher and higher ,with nervousness. He laughed, using clever sarcasm when he was trying to reject the idea that Willy Harris took off with his money. By his use of facial features and his frantic eye flickering, you knew exactly what panics went through his mind. In the scene where Walter Younger portrayed a slave sucking up to his master, he did a good use of props by using the hat for begging. I think that Danny Glover portrayed Walter perfectly! He wasn't too "over the top" and unrealistic but he still came out of character and showed emotions instead of remaining like a "street thug". Danny Glover did a good job portraying Walter and pulled it off without using background music, unlike Sidney and Sean.
Sidney Poitier, Danny Glover and Sean Combs were all actors who portrayed Walter Younger in the play/story Raisin in the Sun. The original movie made starred Sidney Poitier. Sidney did well, but was extremely melodramatic. Sean Combs starred Walter Younger in a more recent version of Raisin in the Sun, he made Walter seem unemotional and apathetic. His facial features and connection with characters just weren't enough. Lastly, Danny Glover also starred Walter Younger in the late 80s and perfected the role! He used the right combination of melodrama, sadness, happiness and anger to create the role of Walter. This play was very deep and moving! It showed the importance of having a dream and having family. I can relate to this play because I am a young minority women. Not only was it difficult for minorities to advance successfully, but it is even tougher for a women. I think I relate to Beneathea the most because I have a ambitious dream of being an orthodontist and owning my own dentistry. I will have to prove myself twice as more because of my gender and ethnic background, and this play showed me not to give up on any of my dreams.