MASTER PRODUCTION

Ben Beatty and John Kani

During the last half-hour of the exquisitely produced “Master Harold”…and the boys, the Geffen Playhouse becomes theatre as a temple: a transcendental, spiritual, empowering and uplifting theatrical experience that only a playwriting craftsman like Athol Fugard could create. For what was up to then a lyrical examination of a white seventeen year-old school boy, and his friendship with the family’s two black servants during the Apartheid era, becomes an examination of shame, guilt, self-respect and the blurry borders of human relations. The rain that spatters against the window on Beowulf Boritt’s ultra-gorgeous set of a South African tea shop becomes a synonym of the sadness we experience when a child who is full of promise descends into agony – a casualty of the institutionalized bigotry in which he was born.

John Kani and Nyasha Hatendi

Maddox is a tea shop servant who is practicing Ballroom dancing for an upcoming competition. He is assisted by the more intellectual and worldly Sam, the servant who once befriended Master Harold by making him a kite out of junk when the youth was distraught over the behavior of his tyrannical father. Unable to deal with the news that his hateful father is returning home from a hospital, Hally (as he is addressed by Sam) unleashes a torrent of hatred upon the two people who surely love and understand him better than anyone else.

Nyasha Hatendi

Much has been written about the play since its arrival in 1982 – for instance, that Ballroom Dancing acts as a metaphor for the elegant rapport that is possible between human beings – but philosophical critique and plot summary are no match for the experience of watching a fully-realized production. Though a little long in the tooth for a teenager, the mellifluous-voiced Ben Beatty is a sight to behold as Hally; the actor deftly balances the layers of kindness, conflict and rage. Sometimes, watching Nyasha Hatendi’s Maddox squelch his sorrow due to the unseen shackles of his position in life is painful. But it is John Kani as Sam who almost humiliates me – so accomplished is his once-in-a-lifetime performance. All the performances and their dialects are organic, nuanced, and never suffer from mannerism.

Ben Beatty

Directors Emily Mann & Tarell Alvin McCraney dropped the ball when it comes to allowing the tension of the play to boil from underneath into an explosion; the action simmers for most of the 95 minutes, which may make the play feel talky to some patrons. I, however, feel quite elated in the presence of Master Fugard, and “Master Harold”…and the boys is storytelling at its best – a moral-filled tale which compels us to examine our own attitudes regarding the way we label each other, and the way we deal with shame. All you have to do is take a seat.

Ben Beatty, John Kani and Nyasha Hatendi

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photos by Jeff Lorch

“Master Harold”…and the boys
Geffen Playhouse, 10866 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood
1 hour and 35 minutes, no intermission
Wed-Fri at 8; Sat at 3 & 8; Sun at 2 & 7 (check for variances)
ends on May 10, 2026
for tickets ($36-$139), call 310.208.5454 or visit Geffen Playhouse

for more shows, visit Theatre in LA

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Ben Beatty