Clybourne Park

Depressed by his son's suicide and disillusioned by Clybourne Park residents' reactions to his son's PTSD, Russ, a white man in his late 40s, has become gruff and distant to his wife and friends. He has withdrawn from his involvement in the community, and distrusts his neighbors and former friends. He gets insulted when Jim tries to talk to him frankly about his depression, and, at the end of Act One, starts a physical altercation with him. Russ doesn't seem concerned that a black family has purchased his home, and even asks Karl to leave after he gives them that piece of news. His son's treatment as a veteran and subsequent suicide trouble him much more than issues of race. He does, however, remind Albert of his 'place’ when he tells Albert not to touch him during his fight with Jim. Russ is a stubborn man who refuses to accept help, whether it be emotional guidance from Jim, or physical help with moving Kenneth's army trunk. 

Russ and Bev's maid, a black woman in her 30s, Francine is unobtrusive and tries to keep her head down for most of Act One. Francine is the person who found Kenneth's body, after he hung himself. Most of her lines are short, polite responses to questions directed at her. Making up an excuse to leave their house early, Francine clearly does not want to spend more time than she has to in Russ and Bev's house. In Act I's last scene, she privately expressesto her husband that she thinks Russ, Bev, Karl, Betsy, and Jim are all "a buncha idiots" (40), whom she doesn't want to have anything to do with. Expressing this publicly would, of course, cause Francine to lose her job.

The only character from A Raisin in the Sun in Clybourne Park, Karl is a white man in his 30s. He is a nervous busybody, and seems tolerated, though not well-liked, by his community. Just before the events in Clybourne Park, Karl has come from the Youngers' house in a neighborhood on Chicago's Southside, where he tried to dissuade them from moving by offering to buy them out with money collected by the Community Association. When he arrives at Russ and Bev's, he believes he will be met with gratitude and sympathy, but instead finds he is alone in his racist views. Betsy, a white woman in her late 20s, is Karl's wife, and is pregnant with Kathy in Act One. Though hearing impaired, she communicates with a combination of sign language, verbal sounds, and writing. Because of her disability, she remains unaware of the tense conversation around her most of the time, but later becomes alarmed. Her family is of Swedish descent. 

Jim is a well-intentioned white clergyman in his late 20s. Faced with Russ's reluctance to accept help, he tries to remain positive. He attempts to temper Karl's heavyhanded approach to talking about the Younger family moving to Clybourne Park by posing questions to Francine about whether she and Albert would like to move there if they could. When Russ blows up about Kenneth, Jim attempts to calm him down. 

A white couple in their 30s, Steve and Lindsey are trying to purchase, demolish, and rebuild the Youngers' house in Clybourne Park in Act Two. Their plans to build it 15 feet taller than the other homes in the neighborhood trigger a petition by the housing association to halt the construction. Steve is talkative and oblivious, often interrupting others and displaying ignorance after his comments or jokes are said to be offensive. Lindsey is somewhat uptight and tries to rein her husband in when he pushes into offensive or inappropriate territory. Though she fronts as an ally, she, too, has many race, class, and gender blindspots.

A black couple in their 30s, Lena and Kevin are current and lifelong residents of Clybourne Park. The house purchased by Lena's great-aunt in A Raisin in the Sun is the one Steve and Lindsey are now trying to buy. Lena is at first polite and a bit reserved when expressing her concerns about the construction, but later reveals herself to be formidable when she needs to be. Her concerns about the neighborhood's gentrification are both personal and practical, as she fears black residents and business owners will be driven out as property values rise. Though he shares Lena's concerns, Kevin remains agreeable for most of the second act, letting racist comments slide, and sometimes jokes around with Steve. However, he loses his cool when Steve insults Lena at the play's end. 

Russ and Bev's son, Kenneth is a white man in his 20s. He served in the military, likely in the Korean War, and was accused of committing an act of violence while serving—namely, murdering civilians. He is shunned by his community when he returns, as they all somehow know about the accusations. Bev doesn't believe they're true, but Russ reminds her that Kenneth confessed to his crimes. He seems to have been suffering from PTSD of some kind, and, unable to find a job, commits suicide by hanging himself in the upstairs of Russ and Bev's house. Francine finds him there. Lena speculates that her great-aunt may have been able to afford the house because it was sold below market value due to the suicide. 

Kathy is Steve and Lindsey's lawyer, and is also the daughter of Karl and Betsy Lindner. She reveals that her mother was deaf, and that her parents moved out of the neighborhood just before she was born. Though not unintelligent, she is a little clueless and sometimes fails to understand the significance of what's being said, or not said. Tom is Kevin and Lena's lawyer. Throughout the Act Two, he tries to keep the conversation on-topic, but is constantly thwarted in his attempts. After Steve makes a homophobic joke, Tom tells the group that he is gay.

Albert is Francine's husband, a black man in his 30s. He is kind and helpful, offering to stay and give Russ and Bev a hand with moving Kenneth's trunk downstairs. He steps in to break up the potential altercation between Russ and Jim, and kindly refuses Bev's offer of compensation for his help.