'MASTER HAROLD'...AND THE BOYS Play the Wharton Center, Now thru 1/31

With the metallic clink of a coin in a jukebox and the scratch of a needle on a record, the character Willie utters the conclusive words, "Let's dream." And so they do. Caught up in a whirlwind of post-World War II traumas and the suffocating tensions of racism in 1950s South Africa, the three actors of this masterpiece by Athol Fugard bang and clash against their fluctuating society in this tale of hope, escapism, dark secrets, and the cruel power of language - creating one of the 20th century's greatest plays. "MASTER HAROLD"...and the boys will play at Wharton Center for Performing Arts tonight, January 30, and Saturday, January 31 in the Pasant Theatre. Tickets are on sale now online at whartoncenter.com, at the Auto-Owners Insurance ticket office, or by calling 1-800- WHARTON.

Upon returning home from the comfort of his school, Hally, the son of a belligerent and bigoted father, finds Sam and Willie, black waiters in his mother's restaurant, preparing for an upcoming dance competition. Talk of the past, of escaping through makeshift kites and dreaming of a world bearing no distinction of black and white, quickly gives way to a heated argument and hateful words that, once spoken, break the fabric of their relationship irreparably. With the impending threat of Hally's father's return, Hally crumbles beneath the pressures of a discriminatory society and unleashes upon his friends all the hate and pain that have been building up inside him, treating Sam and Willie ?for the first time? as subservient. In a world that thrives on the "principle of perpetual disappointment" and despises the progress of social reform, Hally, Sam, and Willie will fight against the strain of their overbearing society and attempt to stay afloat in the prejudiced world that threatens to drown them.

The cast is brought to life by veteran actors Shawn Hamilton (Wharton Center's Garden of Joy, Guthrie Theatre, Yale Repertory and Dallas Theatre Center), Gavin Lawrence (the Goodman Theatre, the Steppenwolf Theatre, off- Broadway), and, playing Hally with an essential burning intensity, is Michigan's own Justin Dietzel. Following the Friday performance will be a 30-minute Q&A; a 1-hour After Chat will immediately follow the Saturday performance.

"MASTER HAROLD"...and the boys is brilliantly penned by Athol Fugard, recipient of the 1982 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards, as well as winner of the 2011 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. Fugard is known for his dynamic and in-depth portrayals of apartheid in South Africa, as he was also awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver by the government of South Africa for "his excellent contribution and achievements in theater."

In a setting that mimics our own fluctuating world and ripe with the drama and uncertainty consistent with its time, "MASTER HAROLD"...and the boys brings the idea of acceptance and human value to the forefront of discussion. In Hally's own words, "we need a definition of greatness," and that desire has never been more pertinent.

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