‘Master Harold’… and the boys

[h1]’Master Harold’… and the boys[/h1]

[h2]by Athol Fugard[/h2]

[h3]April 17 – May 23, 2004[/h3]

[h3]Synopsis[/h3]

Fugard’s greatest work, this wrenching, coming-of-age drama is set in 1950s apartheid South Africa. Won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Play and was revived on Broadway last season to great acclaim.

How biographical is the Play? The dedication reads, “For Sam and H.D.F.” Sam was a real person, a black man, whom Mr. Fugard valued in his youth. “H.D.F.” are the initials of Mr. Fugard’s father, who loved to play jazz piano in a combo and died decades ago. In a sense, ‘Master Harold’ looks at two father figures, although Mr. Fugard cautions against exact parallels. “Of course, the elements relate to my childhood,” he said. “But I’ve taken poetic license, as Hally says. If the play is valid, it is a piece of theater, not a personal history.”

[h3]Who’s Who[/h3]

[h4]The Cast[/h4]
Hally: JOHN BIXLER
Sam: PAUL BODIE
Willie: RODNEY GARDINER

[h4]The Artists[/h4]
Playwright: Athol Fugard
Director: Joseph Adler
Set: Tim Connelly
Lighting: Jeff Quinn
Music/Sound: Michael J. Hoffmann
Costumes: Estela Vrancovich
Props: Claire Savitt
Stage Manager: Michael Carroll
Dialect Coach: Trevor Cross
Dance Consultant: Ron Headrick


'Master Harold'... and the boys

Photos: George Schiavone