Netflix, film actor Mitchell to appear in local ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ production
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, March 12, 2025
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Theater department students in Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class listen and take notes as E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to the class at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Theater department students in Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class listen and take notes as E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to the class at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor who has played roles in Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” “The Walking Dead,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and many other film and television productions, speaks to Western Kentucky University Theatre Program Coordinator Alan White’s class of theater department students at Gordon Wilson Hall on Thursday, March 6, 2025, as he prepares to fill a role in Fountain Square Players’ upcoming production of “A Raisin in the Sun” from March 13-16 at The Capitol. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
E. Roger Mitchell, an actor known for his roles in “Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Walking Dead” and “Outer Banks,” is set to take the stage in Bowling Green this week as part of Fountain Square Players’ production of “A Raisin in the Sun.”
“ ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ has been around my life since the beginning,” Mitchell told the Daily News. “In high school, it was the first piece I actually picked up.”
Mitchell will star in the role of Bobo in the play, which is set to premiere Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Capitol in Bowling Green.
“A Raisin in the Sun” was written in 1959 and debuted on Broadway that same year. It chronicles the journey of a Black family living in south Chicago and references issues such as housing discrimination, assimilation and racism.
In the play, the character Bobo is a business partner of the character Walter Lee Younger, around whose family the play revolves. Younger’s character was made famous in the 1960s when Sidney Poitier portrayed him in a television adaptation.
Mitchell spoke on some qualities of Bobo’s character.
“Bobo kind of illuminates ‘count your blessings – it could be worse,’ ” Mitchell said. “ ‘You think you’ve got it bad, trust me, it could be worse,’ which applies to every aspect in life.”
A Raisin in the Sun will mark Mitchell’s first time starring in a production in Bowling Green. He said before this he has only passed through Kentucky, but has never stayed.
Mitchell will be in town for a couple weeks to help support the production. Even though this is his first visit to town, he already has positive feelings about the place.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s really cool … I like the vibe. I love the energy, it’s a good vibe and it’s beautiful up here.”
The production will be directed by Chris Baker. David Greer, a friend of Baker’s who is a sponsor for the show, told the Daily News he has known Mitchell for over a decade and when he approached Mitchell about the play, Mitchell told him he would “love to do it.”
Greer, who will fill the role of Younger in the production, said since he has not performed on stage in some time, rehearsing and working with Mitchell has been a “masterclass.”
“A Raisin in the Sun” has showtimes of 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. showtime on Sunday. Mitchell has made appearances around Bowling Green in the lead up to the premiere, including visits to classes at Western Kentucky University.
Mitchell said doing this kind of outreach is important because, in his words, “someone did it for me” when he was starting out.
“It’s an unselfish act,” he said after meeting with WKU theater students last Thursday. “There’s some things you’ve experienced that somebody could benefit from. Someone may be able to get something that’ll help them along the way.”
He is looking forward to “being an asset” for the production.
“I’m just looking forward to bringing that gravity of the situation to the audience,” he said, adding that in the play, “the stakes are really high.”
Tickets for the production can be purchased at capitolbg.org/events.
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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