Review: Athol Fugard's 'MASTER HAROLD'... AND THE BOYS Has, Sadly, Not Lost Its Relevance

The subject of sensitive, well-intentionEd White people growing up unaware of their own privilege has been receiving more and more attention in American, but back in 1982, South African playwright Athol Fugard approached the issue as experienced in his apartheid-infested homeland.

Initially banned by the South African government, "MASTER HAROLD"... AND THE BOYS premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in a production directed by the playwright that soon transferred to Broadway. Fugard now helms Signature Theatre's excellent Off-Broadway revival.

Set in 1950, the 100-minute play takes place during the course of a rainy late afternoon in a small Port Elizabeth tea room. (The fine and detailed set design is by Christopher H. Barreca.) As the story begins, the business' two black employees, the warmly dignified Sam (Leon Addison Brown) and the easy-going Willie (Sahr Ngaujah) are taking a break in the otherwise empty establishment.

Sam is helping Willie prepare for a ballroom dancing competition, advising him to treat his girlfriend, who is his partner, more romantically and to stop beating her every time she can't get a step correctly.

In comes Hally (Noah Robbins), the 17-year-old son of the tea room's Afrikaner owners. Hally has known the two older men since he was a little boy. While Willie always addresses him with respectful formality as "Master Harold," Sam is more of a father figure and teacher and calls him by his nickname.

Hally has a rough relationship with his own father, an abusive alcoholic who is continually in need of medical attention. The boy has been enjoying a quiet and civil period at home while his father is hospitalized.

There is little action in the play, but a lot of thought. Hally's work on his homework composition leads to a conversation about men of magnitude, as the three consider the contributions to the world made by the likes of Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and Napoleon.

The audience can pick up subtle moments where Hally, most likely innocently, exercises his position of racial privilege, but as the play progresses, there is a moment that serves as his breaking point and we witness his lashing out at Sam to remind him of his place.

Sam, ever the teacher, makes sure that his young friend is aware of the consequences of his change in attitude. In a sense, "MASTER HAROLD"... AND THE BOYS becomes a sad twist on the typical coming-of-age story.

Brown and Robbins both do a superb job of conveying the complicated relationship between the two; one that leads to a powerful moment when the oppressed gentleman who has devoted more than a decade to being a responsible role model to the boy must respond to his rebellion. The charismatic Ngaujah's role is more humorous, but he effectively serves as an example of acceptable behavior for a black man of that time and place.