Master Harold...and the Boys
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Cititour.com Review
Few plays reveal such hidden depths as Athol Fugard’s 1982 masterwork “MASTER HAROLD…AND THE BOYS.” Yet, as proven by its wan 2003 Broadway revival, this shattering work is hardly foolproof. Luckily for us, the ever-savvy Signature Theatre Company has returned the play to the directorial hands of the playwright, who has assembled a top-notch trio of actors led by the astonishing Leon Addison Brown. The result is the kind of production where you literally won’t hear a pin drop (or hopefully a cell phone) for 100 minutes, until the audience seems to spontaneously combust at the end – just seconds after they catch their collective breath.
Set in South African tea room in 1950, the play begins rather innocuously with a lengthy discussion between longtime co-workers and roommates Willie (the excellent Sahr Nguajah), and Sam (Brown ) about an upcoming ballroom competition). And yet, it’s part of Fugard’s genius that the competition – and what it means to black Africans – will end up playing a surprisingly large part in the stunning and sudden transformation of the relationship between the men and the adolescent son of the tea room’s owner, Hally (a remarkable Noah Robbins).
For much of the play, Hally, who is white, treats these men – especially Sam --- as friends, even surrogate fathers, so much so that you must remind yourself that the play takes part during the era of Apartheid. True, there’s a moment here or there when Hally may exert his position, but those snappish exchanges feel more like a case of class superiority than true “white privilege.”
Still, when Hally shoots down Sam’s defense of Abraham Lincoln as one of history’s great men because, as he tells Sam, slavery was abolished in South Africa long before it was in America, you also realize the cultural indoctrination that pervaded that society. So it’s not entirely shocking when, in a moment of displaced anger, Hally puts Sam in his so-called place. What is quite remarkable is both Sam’s initial response to Hally’s despicable act, and his later one, as he takes one last stab in undoing what appears to be permanent damage to a seemingly unbreakable bond.
Brown (in a role that won the great South African actor Zakes Mokae a Tony Award) has no easy task. In the early scenes, Sam appears entirely affable, but when Sam explodes, Brown is absolutely terrifying – seemingly capable of almost anything. And then, best of all, after just a few moments offstage, Brown returns, and we see Sam as a man who is now made up of equal parts sadness, wisdom, and resolve.
Robbins also has some memorable shoes to fill. (Lonny Price and Matthew Broderick are among his predecessors as Hally.) His accent is decidedly English and not South African, but that’s about the only flaw I can find in his work. Robbins delivers a beautifully multi-layered performance as a confused and unhappy teenager struggling to fill a man’s shoes (or at least his definition of a man), only to totter in them as if he were trying high heels on for the first time.
Much credit for the production’s success is also due to the show’s creative team; Christopher H. Barrecca’s set is perhaps the most detailed I’ve ever seen for this show, Susan Hilferty (Fugard’s longtime colleague) has chosen the right costumes, and Stephen Strawbridge’s lighting and John Gromada’s sound combine seamlessly to make us feel the windy, rainy conditions that mirror the darkness and dampness that remain both outside the restaurant while somehow invading its world.
Most of all, however, we have Athol Fugard on hand to shed the real light – a spotlight blazing brightly on the complexities of the human condition.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.signaturetheatre.org
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/18/2016
Closing 12/11/2016
Theatre Info
Signature Theatre
480 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
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