“A Raisin in the Sun” is devastating.

It’s devastatingly good in the PA Shakespeare Festival production of “A Raisin in the Sun,” through July 13, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Arts, DeSales University.

The direction by Akeem Davis of the landmark theater classic’s nine-person cast is superb. Performances are realistic, believable and authentic. The production will leave an indelible mark in your mind, soul and spirit.

The play, which takes place during the 1950s in Chicago, is so authentic as to be a treatise on concerns African-Americans still may have: real estate red-lining, racism, demeaning jobs, assimilation, natural or stylized hair, micro-aggression. It’s all there in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

The title of “A Raisin in the Sun,” written by Lorraine Hansberry (1930 - 1965), is taken from a 1951 volume of poems by Langston Hughes (1901 - 1967): “What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/Like a raisin in the sun?”

Hansberry was the first African-American female to have a play on Broadway. “A Raisin in the Sun,” which opened in 1959 (the film starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, reprising their stage roles, was released in 1961), is based on real-life experience. Hansberry’s family challenged a restrictive covenant in a 1940 U.S. Supreme Court case, Hansberry v. Lee, after purchasing a house on the South Side of Chicago.

In ”A Raisin in the Sun,” the Younger family is living in a two-bedroom apartment in Chicago. Walter Lee Younger (Brandon E. Burton), a limo driver, and his wife, Ruth (Noelle Diane Johnson), live with their son, Travis (Kian E. Cooper for the June 27 opening night performance seen for this review); Walter’s mother Lena “Mama” (Kimberly S. Fairbanks), and Walter’s younger sister Beneatha (Billie Wyatt). The mother and grandmother are domestic workers. The father’s sister has aspirations to attend college to become a medical doctor.

The plot revolves around several aspects: a decision on the use of a $10,000 insurance check issued after the death of Lena’s husband; the bad advice of Walter’s buddy Bobo (Keith Livingston); two suitors of Beneatha: George Murchison (Jamir Fisher), a college student, and Joseph Asagai (Isaiah Caleb Stanley), an immigrant from Nigeria, and an offer from a white representative, Karl Linder (Matt Pfeiffer), of a neighborhood association.

Each performer is extraordinary, expressing a full range of emotions at once compelling, sensitive and heart-rending.

Burton carries his character Walter’s frustrations like an open wound into which he pours booze, only making the hurt worse. His face and body language reflect resignation. Burton is transformative in Act 2, changing before our eyes.

Johnson is the long-suffering wife who can’t iron out her sorrows. Her passive face and eyes are a window to her patience, pain and steadfastness.

Fairbanks carries family burdens on her back like a fighter and, hands on hips and in forthright voice, leaves no doubt as to who, at first, is in charge.

Wyatt brings a spunky energy to the role of a beatnik with a philosophy as light as a feather and as strong as the bird that flies.

Cooper is a joy as the young son.

Fisher is a solid presence so self-assured as to be almost comical.

Stanley is dynamic whose pan-Africanisms sound chimerical until they begin to make sense.

Livingston provides a bouncy sway as a kind of legendary trickster figure.

The wild card of the play is Pfeiffer, who portrays convincingly the irritant that makes the pearl of the play possible.

When red and blue flashes at the play’s conclusion, it’s not necessarily fireworks of celebration for the Fourth of July.

Scenic Designer Marie Laster create a wall-paper peeling reality for the shabby brown apartment. Lighting Designer Thom Weaver seems to freeze time effectively. Costume Designer Leigh Paradise brings out each of the character’s personalities. Sound Designer is Jordan McCree.

“A Raisin in the Sun” has not withered in some 66 years. If anything, this classic of the American stage is more relevant than ever, and not only to African-Americans, but to those who look on in sadness, grief and remorse.

Yes, it’s devastating. Sometimes, devastation can be a place of beginning and not an ending. A seed is planted. To this creative soil, tears bring the water. The play provides the sun.

“A Raisin in the Sun” will be long remembered as a jewel in the crown of the PA Shakespeare Festival.

“A Raisin in the Sun,” 7:30 p.m. June 25, 26, 27, July 3, 9, 19, 11; 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m. June 28, July 2, 5, 12; 2 p.m. June 29, July 6, 13; 6:30 p.m. July 1, 8, PA Shakespeare Festival, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-9455, https://pashakespeare.org/