"MASTER HAROLD"...and the Boys

A Review by Christine Marks
Newark High School

“Master Harold”…and the Boys began in a fun and exciting way that pulled you right into the story. Willie (Kenajuan Bentley) is practicing for a ballroom competition with help from his coworker Sam (DJ Howard). His dancing is a great comical start to the show.

Soon enough the title character walks in and sets a whole new light to the scene. It’s still laid back as they reminisce about when Master Harold, or Hally (Seamus Mulcahy) as the other two call him, was younger. This production loomed from a relaxed setting with friends to a dramatic turn of events from just one intense phone call.

The setting was wonderful. I was very impressed by the rain in the background for the entire ninety minutes, and was wondering if it was real. Just looking at the scenery made me feel as if I was in a tea room in the afternoon. The lighting design created a lot of the drama set by the script. For example, whenever Hally was on the phone talking to his mother, the stage lights dimmed and a soft spot was on him throughout creating an atmosphere that made one feel as if something bad was going to happen. The costumes also helped to add to the scene. The setting is 1950s South Africa, so Sam and Willie dressed in arguably nice wardrobe for cleaning and caring for the shop developed that time setting more. Hally in his school uniform projected to the audience the financial situation his family is in as well as what type of school he attends.

All of the three actors did a phenomenal job, not just with the lines put forth by Athol Fugard, but also with the directional acts they put forth, which made them get more in touch with their characters. The three of them barely left the stage even when one didn’t have any lines. As the one stayed in the background which the other two conversed, he kept his character by either cleaning or tidying up, or in Hally’s case, studying or eating. Though the age of Hally was never brought up, one could assume he is between the ages of fourteen and seventeen by some of the little things he did. For example, on more than one occasion, Hally sits on a table top, fold his hands, crosses his ankles, and rocks his legs back and forth in a childish manner as he remembers the old days. This shows that Mulcahy really got in touch with his character that he was able to add just little things to make the character more personal. Same with Bentley and washing the windows. The little things sometimes really pay off. All of the actors created a wonderful ensemble as they worked together very well.

The stage stayed balanced throughout the entire show. Everything and everyone involved were considerably well balanced. The lights, the setting, the actors, the choreography, and the music all worked incredibly together to create an amazing production. Your emotions swayed from happy and upbeat, to astonished and upset. One could have wanted it to end a certain way, though another would say that it had to end the way it did because that’s how life in that time period was like. Richard Corley did a wonderful job portraying this as the audience seemed to feel something at the end.

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