See it if you are interested in seeing a powerful, perfectly paced one-act show that delves deep into the ugliest parts of the human soul.
Don't see it if you want your theatrical experiences to be light and fluffy with a happy ending.
See it if you want to see a play that hits you like a fist to the gut. Knocks the wind out of you. Scary relevance to who half our nation is today!
Don't see it if you don't like powerful plays that might make you think about who you are or the choices you've made.
See it if you love great writing and acting. This play just keeps getting better and more relevant (unfortunately).
Don't see it if can't bear the truth of how little things have changed over many decades as far as civil rights are concerned - here, there and everywhere.
See it if you're interested in great acting and riveting theater about relevant race issues
Don't see it if you're just looking to be entertained and don't want to feel or think about your theater experience
See it if You enjoy drama and conflict and don't mind that things aren't tied up neatly at the end. A classic play that still has importance.
Don't see it if You need a musical or something light to entertain you or you don't want your entertainment to be challenging.
See it if you are interested in taking a good hard look at apartheid in 1950 with lessons that can be applied today.
Don't see it if you think we are now living in a perfect world with no racial injustice
See it if you like great writing and acting in a serious drama.
Don't see it if you don't want to see something about South Africa in the Apartheid era.
See it if You are open to writing and subtle performances that will sneak up on you, make you squirm, and make you think
Don't see it if You don't want to be challenged or deal with relevant and disturbing content
"A landmark and still timely play that is the masterwork of an important playwright directed with real grace and insight by the writer himself...Three delicate, precise performances...This short production may begin to drag in its middle, but Fugard’s writing and direction utilize the quotidian masterfully to engender and underscore an impactful conclusion...This production expertly captures both the tension of the social situation and the shock of its snapping."
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“It remains a thrilling play, even 34 years after its premiere in 1982...Fugard’s piercing, semiautobiographical evocation of the psychological pressures created by living in a racist society is remarkably affecting. We watch three people who love each other struggling to maintain their equanimity in a society where racial hatred infects everything it touches...Fugard’s perfectly calibrated direction inspires excellent performances all around.”
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"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 for 100 minutes...Most of all, we have Athol Fugard on hand to shed the real light – a spotlight blazing brightly on the complexities of the human condition."
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"The 84-year-old playwright directs the Signature production himself, and he does it with a masterful attention to details...Casting is crucial to make these relationships plausible...Leon Addison Brown projects just the right mix of dignity, decency, warmth and compassion...Ngaujah has transformed himself into Willie...As Hally, Noah Robbins would be a revelation, if I hadn’t been following his career already."
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"Fugard’s play is as fresh as the morning’s headlines. Any morning, lately...Theirs is a relationship brought to a boiling point by the 84-year-old Fugard, who proves that he’s one of the few playwrights who can direct his own work. The cast is flawless...Fugard’s true achievement with 'Master Harold…' (the ellipsis conveys plenty) is exposing the tearoom as a microcosm as he throws harsh light on a macrocosm."
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"With his production at the Signature, Fugard does Fugard well....Mr. Robbins is perfection as Hally...Mr. Brown's performance is compelling with his understated presence, showing Sam’s intelligence despite the lack of learning. Mr. Ngaujah adds much needed humor...By the end, 'Master Harold' is a lesson learned simply by watching this riveting play performed, directed and stated so well."
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"Two key characters are Sam, brilliantly played by Brown, and Willie, the excellent Ngaujah...The racism that explodes is irredeemably ugly, yet Sam’s strong verbal fight...foretells what will develop on a larger scale. My one qualm is...the tone of the performance by Robbins...Hally comes across as rather unpleasant from the beginning...But that’s a minor personal reaction to what is a devastating drama...It is an extremely well-written drama mounted with exemplary distinction."
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"With its leisurely storytelling, deceptively complex humanity and grounded simplicity, the wonderful play reminds us how, through the decades, Fugard has taken people from very far away and made their lives so real that they resound beyond the impersonal facts of distant news stories...When I first saw 'Master Harold,' I dismissed it as just another pecking-order play...Fugard, in his reconsideration, proves how wrong I was."
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