Ben Beatty on 'MASTER HAROLD...AND THE BOYS' at Geffen Playhouse

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The Los Angeles native makes his Geffen Playhouse debut in Athol Fugard's powerful drama, sharing the stage with original cast member John Kani

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Geffen Playhouse audiences are getting a rare opportunity to experience Athol Fugard 's "MASTER HAROLD"…AND THE BOYS, the deeply personal drama set in a 1950s South African tea shop where a single rainy afternoon exposes the realities of race, power, and betrayal between a white teenager and the two Black waiters who have helped raise him.

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Making his Geffen Playhouse debut as Hally is Los Angeles native Ben Beatty, a Northwestern University alumnus whose film credits include the Coen Brothers' HAIL, CAESAR! and Ryan Eslinger's UFO. For Beatty, the production marks a homecoming to the very theatre where he grew up watching shows.

The production reunites Beatty with a remarkable creative team that includes John Kani , who originated the role of Sam in 1984, alongside Tarell Alvin McCraney and Emily Mann .

BroadwayWorld spoke with Beatty about taking on the complex role of Hally, working alongside Kani in the rehearsal room, and the contrast between joyful memories and devastating cruelty that drives the heart of Fugard's masterpiece.

What drew you to the role of Hally in "Master Harold"…and the Boys, and what was it about this particular production at The Geffen Playhouse that excited you?

Master Harold and the Boys is a masterpiece, and I couldn't say no to chance to work on such a great piece of art. John Kani 's involvement has made it even more special. Being able to work with him is an experience that I will always treasure. Tarell Alvin McCraney and Emily Mann are also wonderful artists who brought so much to this process. I would have been an absolute idiot to say no.

As a Los Angeles native making your Geffen Playhouse debut, what does it mean to you personally to be performing in your hometown?

I grew up going to shows at the Geffen, and it feels great to be working here myself. We don't have enough theater in Los Angeles, so I'm very happy to be a part of the great community here at the Geffen, working on a special piece of art. I'm very grateful for it, and I hope I get the chance to do it again.

Hally is a deeply complex character who both loves and ultimately betrays the men who helped raise him — how do you approach finding empathy for someone capable of such cruelty?

Hally is a young man raised in a poisonous environment. The bigotry of the apartheid society around him, and the humiliations visited upon Hally by his crippled, alcoholic, and abusive father have begun to seep into his bones. He is a deeply unhappy teenager. His home life is awful. He is helpless before his father. The cruelty that Hally inflicts upon Sam and Willie is Hally's attempt at taking control of his life in whatever way he can. He cannot control his real father, so instead he attempts to assert his authority over Sam, his surrogate father. In his rage, he chooses to pick up the most potent tool available to him - white supremacy. In that moment, we see how far Hally is along the path to becoming a full fledged racist. And he would have, had it not been for Sam. The good news is that we know that Sam did not fail in his attempt to build Hally into a better man than the society around him. Hally grew up to be Athol Fugard , the great anti-apartheid artist and activist.

How do you navigate the emotional journey of Hally throughout the play, particularly as the tone shifts from playful reminiscence to something much darker?

There is so much beauty to the intimate relationship Hally and Sam and Willie, and it's critical to the storytelling of the play to demonstrate the joy that exists in the room with the three of them. Their intellectual debates and happy memories together are in strong contrast to Hally's miserable home life, which is dominated by his father, who makes him utterly miserable. In the tea room with Sam and Willie, Hally is happy. At the beginning of the show, Hally believes he has been granted a temporary reprieve from his miserable home life by his father's extended hospital stay. When he gets the news that his father is in fact coming home early, all those ugly emotions that Hally has bottled up for so long come pouring out, resulting in the explosion of ugliness that we see in the final scenes of the play. The impact of that ugliness only lands if it exists in juxtaposition to the happy relationship we see in the first half of the play, so we worked hard at emphasizing that contrast.

The relationship between Hally, Sam, and Willie is at the heart of this play - how did you build that dynamic with your castmates during rehearsals?

Having John Kani in the rehearsal room was an unbelievable gift. John not only knows the play better than anyone living, having originated the role of Sam in 1984, but also knew very well the actual characters, both on stage and off. Whether it be Hally, Sam, or even Hally's mother and father, John knew them all. So we had an incredible resource in him to help us bring the text to life. John was able to teach us so much about them and about the dynamics of South African society during the time of the play's setting. All I had to do was listen to him, and I was in good shape.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching Hally's transformation over the course of the play?

I hope that audiences see where the roots of white supremacy can come from. I hope they see how Hally's frustrations with his personal problems eventually begin to manifest into bigotry, because it's easier to become a racist than it is to stand up to your family. I hope they see how his relationship with Sam saved him from that dark path. I hope they see how Sam's wisdom and dignity shaped Athol Fugard into the great artist that he eventually became.

Why must audiences come and see the show?

Master Harold and the Boys is a timeless play and we have a wonderful team of artists here that have brought it to life. We have a beautiful set, beautiful costumes, and John Kani 's performance is undeniable. You will be sorry if you miss it.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-QA-Ben-Beatty-Talks-MASTER-HAROLDAND-THE-BOYS-at-Geffen-Playhouse-20260505)._