WELCOME TO
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
If you’ve read this space before, you know I talk a lot about dreaming: Its importance to storytelling and plays, its usefulness in times of chaos and darkness. It’s harder, though, to talk about the importance of dreaming as an instrument of CHANGE; hard to pin how something ephemeral can affect the tangible. Hard at least for me.
Athol Fugard pulls us into a rainy dark day near the ocean to remind us that dreaming is best done together, and that all dreaming, even nightmares, can effect change. “Master Harold” ...and the Boys is an autobiographical excavation of the origins of a young freedom fighter’s dreams and aspirations, that are trapped in the nightmare of apartheid in South Africa.
Mr. Fugard is not kind in his portrait; he is something more necessary: He is honest. And even in his truthful illumination of the social and political landscape that could have easily brought to bear a person clouded in despair, divorced from his imagination, incapable of seeing the
world differently, he demonstrates with great candor, with great care, that truth is only found through the need to have it . That justice isn’t wrought through facts, but in the dreaming between the lines; that where we come from does not dictate where we must go, especially if we have the time to dream a little on the journey.
There has been no greater honor in my life than to hear about this ethos of playmaking. I heard it not from Mr. Fugard himself, who passed away just last year, but from one of the dreamers he joined with to build a better society. Dr. John Kani has spent his life dreaming of a new world in the country of his birth. And he thought it not robbery to spend time teaching us every performance how to pick up this mighty tool that bends our world towards one without collisions, one centered on justice, and practice dreaming together.
Welcome.
Tarell Alvin McCraney Artistic Director
PHOTO BY
JEFF LORCH
GIL CATES, JR.
Welcome to “Master Harold”…and the Boys! We say the word “welcome” a lot here at the Geffen. Our team is always in conversation internally about how we can be as welcoming as possible and expand our reach through the stories on our stages, the behindthe-scenes and backstage experiences we curate, and the education and community engagement programs we proudly provide.
As you may have seen on the lobby display coming into the theater, Geffen Playhouse will be situated right across the street from what will become Athlete Village during the upcoming Olympics in 2028. This influx of people from so many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences gives us a unique opportunity to gather together in new and exciting ways. We are exploring ambitious, cultural experiences that will not only redefine what can be created on our stages, but that will also expand the reach beyond our physical walls in new and immersive ways to invite in passersby. We call this Theater Up Close, an initiative with a multi-pronged effort to both enhance the theater-going experience for our current community members and provide a place for new voices and shared experiences. We want to bring you, your friends, your family, and all our LA neighbors closer to both the power of the arts and the power of community.
As Westwood Village prepares to welcome the Athlete Village, we invite you to be a part of our own, evergrowing Geffen Playhouse family. To learn more, please contact Cody Metzger at codym@geffenplayhouse.org.
Thank you, and enjoy the show!
Gil Cates, Jr. Executive Director / CEO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mary Ann Cloyd CHAIR
Gil Cates, Jr.
Executive Director / CEO
Ellyce R. Cooper
Merle Dandridge
Dr. Brad Edgerton
Bonnie E. Eskenazi
Mark Fleischer
Susan Nahley Fleishman
Brenda Garcia
Patricia L. Glaser
Adi Greenberg Chair Emeritus
John Horn
Laura Kennedy
Carla Malden
Brian Mann
Tiffany Mayberry
Tarell Alvin McCraney
Artistic Director
Mary Osako
Danny Passman
Holly Rice
Linda Bernstein Rubin
Matt Shakman
Richard Sherman
Celine Parreñas Shimizu
Howard Tenenbaum Chair Emeritus
Miranda Tollman Vice Chair
JaHan Wang
Marc Weinstock
FOUNDING TRUSTEES
Harold A. Brown
Gilbert Cates† Founder
Kirsten Combs
Robert A. Daly
David Geffen
Herbert M. Gelfand†
Marcia Israel-Curley†
Quincy Jones†
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Glorya Kaufman†
Audrey Skirball Kenis†
Charles Kenis†
Karl Malden†
Ginny Mancini†
Frank G. Mancuso Chair Emeritus
Ron Meyer
Jerry Moss†
Jerry Perenchio†
Bruce M. Ramer Founding Chair
Victoria Mann Simms
Andy Spahn
Steven Spielberg
Steve Tisch
Edie Wasserman†
Lew Wasserman†
Dr. Charles E. Young† † In Memoriam
LEGAL COUNSEL
Venable LLP
PHOTO BY JEFF LORCH
THEATER IN EDUCATION HAS THE POWER TO IGNITE CHANGE
Geffen Playhouse is deeply committed to creating powerful and impactful arts education and engagement experiences that amplify, inspire, and encompass our diverse Los Angeles community. Our programs provide unique, in-depth access to theater and the arts for determined and ambitious youth and adults coming from historically excluded communities. We invite all Angelenos to come home here. When you support our education and community engagement programs, you create a world of greater understanding, increased expression, and deeper compassion while enjoying your home away from home at this historic playhouse.
PHOTO
Above: Student Q&A with Dragon Lady star Sara Porkalob after a student matinee.
“MASTER HAROLD” ...AND THE BOYS
WRITTEN BY ATHOL FUGARD
DIRECTED BY EMILY MANN & TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY
SCENIC DESIGNER BEOWULF BORITT
COSTUME DESIGNER SUSAN HILFERTY
LIGHTING DESIGNERS ADAM HONORÉ & SPENCER DOUGHTIE
SOUND DESIGN BY UPTOWNWORKS—NOEL NICHOLS, BAILEY TRIERWEILER & DANIELA HART
CHOREOGRAPHERS KOKO IWASAKI NYEMCHEK & KIKI NYEMCHEK
DIALECT & VOICE COACH DEBORAH HECHT
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER COLLEEN DANAHER
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER REBECCA K. HSIA
OPENING NIGHT
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR RODNEY GARDINER
DRAMATURG AMY LEVINSON
CASTING DIRECTOR PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026
“MASTER HAROLD” ...AND THE BOYS
CAST OF CHARACTERS
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Hally ................................................................................................ BEN BEATTY
Willie NYASHA HATENDI
Sam JOHN KANI
UNDERSTUDIES
u/s Willie SHELDON FRETT
u/s Hally BEN LARSON
u/s Sam HARRISON WHITE
Understudies never substitute for listed players unless specified.
The Actors and Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SETTING/TIME
The St. George’s Park Tea Room, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 1950.
RUNNING TIME
90 minutes, no intermission.
PLEASE NOTE
There is no photography or filming of any kind allowed during the performance. Please turn off all electronic devices, including cell phones. Thank you!
Casting Consultant
Jamila Webb
Associate Scenic Designer
Alexis Distler
Associate Costume Designer
Camilla Dely
Production Assistant
Siena Viviano
Deck Crew
Oliver Brink
Wardrobe Supervisor
Kassidy Klinesmith
Wardrobe Swing
Lucille Petty
Light Board Operator
Jesús Cambero Elias
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A2
Isa Underdahl
Carpenters
Dante Alanis, Oliver Brink, Enrique Garcia, Claudia Peterson, Kalika Reece, Sam Sully
Scenic Painter
Chandish Nester
Properties Artisans & Carpenters
Joseph Cacciola, Sigourney Chin, Danny Dolan, Joshua Hunt,
Vanessa Lara
Lead Tailor
Jessica Louise
Tailor
Alexander Zeek
Scenery Built & Painted By F&D Scene Changes
Lighting Equipment Provided By PRG
Sound Equipment Provided By DnB Design
Production Electrician
Jesús Cambero Elias
Lighting Programmer
Em Moore
Electricians
Christina Antolin,
Shannon Barondeau, Bianca Bishop, Daniel Fernandez, Ezra Fisher, Angelica Mondragon, Sketkh Williams
Sound Technicians
Michael Svolos, Isa Underdahl
PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Production Photographer
Jeff Lorch
Media Filming
Ramon Garcia
Design + Art Direction Base Design
Photography Corey Olsen
SPECIAL THANKS
UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Scene, Prop, Sound, and Costume Shops; Lisa Fugard
RECORDING NOTICE
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production and distributing recordings or streams in any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author(s)’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: https://concordtheatricals.com/resources/protecting-artists
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Actors Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
The Stage Managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
This theater operates under agreement between the League of Resident Theaters and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an independent national labor union.
The Director is a Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
The scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers in LORT theaters are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.
Geffen Playhouse is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.
Geffen Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater company, is proudly affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles.
BEN BEATTY (he/him)
Hally
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ben Beatty is honored to be making his Geffen Playhouse debut in “Master Harold”…and the Boys. Film credits include Hail, Caesar! (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen) and UFO (dir. Ryan Eslinger). He is an alumnus of Northwestern University, where he studied Theater and Middle Eastern History. Love and gratitude to his family and his team at CAA.
NYASHA HATENDI (he/him)
Willie
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Zimbabwe, Nyasha studied Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh before training at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London from 2001-2004. His breakout role on the London stage was in the European Premiere of The Brothers Size at the Young Vic written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, which
went on to receive the Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Play. He made his West End debut in the Olivier Award–winning King Charles III transferred from the Almeida Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold. The play finished its run at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, receiving 6 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. His U.S. breakout was as “Leon” in Hulu’s first Golden Globe–nominated show Casual directed by Jason Reitman. Currently, Nyasha is starring as series regular in Netflix’s Agatha Christie adaptation of The Seven Dials Mystery, opposite Martin Freeman, and in Debriefing the President (TNT), opposite Joel Kinnaman. Nyasha wrote and directed Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi, an African-set cinematic podcast starring Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things) which was nominated for Audible’s Best Horror of The Year 2025 and is currently in development as a feature.
John Kani is a South African actor, playwright, director, and cultural activist. He received the 1975 Tony Award for his performances in The Island and
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, which he co-wrote with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. A longtime member of Johannesburg’s Market Theatre, his stage credits include Driving Miss Daisy, Othello, Miss Julie, My Children! My Africa! (Vita Award), and Nothing But the Truth (Fleur du Cap Award for Best Actor and Best New South African Play). He wrote and starred in Kunene and the King for the Royal Shakespeare Company, receiving the Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award. His film and television work includes The Grass Is Singing, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, An African Dream, Saturday Night at the Palace, Sarafina!, The Ghost and the Darkness, Final Solution, The Lion King (2019) and Mufasa: The Lion King as “Rafiki,” and portraying “King T’Chaka” in Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther. In 2005, he was awarded South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver. He is the founder of the John Kani Performing Arts Academy. In 2023, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2025, the World Wildlife Fund awarded him the Living Planet Award for his work in nature conservation and climate change.
JOHN KANI
Sam
SHELDON FRETT
u/s Willie
Classically trained, Sheldon is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). After beginning his career in film, he continued his training in London, performing in classical productions including Pericles, Henry VI, and Titus Andronicus. He has since worked internationally across stage and screen. He made his film debut opposite Academy Award winner Viola Davis in Get On Up, starring the late Chadwick Boseman, and became the first actor from the British Virgin Islands to appear in a major studio film. Additional credits include the British comedy series Hitmen alongside Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, and the limited series Shots Fired.
u/s Hally
Ben has dreamed of working at the Geffen Playhouse since he first moved to Los Angeles! A Texas native, he is a graduate
of the USC School of Dramatic Arts where he was the recipient of the Ruth and Albert McKinlay Award & Scholarship for Outstanding Undergraduate Performer. Most recently, he made his television debut as “Ellis Powell” in the long-running NBC crime drama Chicago P.D. Last Spring, Ben originated the role of “Billy” in the world premiere of Roger Q. Mason’s Hide & Hide directed by Jessica Hanna for the Skylight Theatre Company. While at USC, he appeared in The Normal Heart, Carrie: The Musical, Breaking Barriers, Hit the Wall, and Twelve Angry Jurors, as well as Noël Coward’s Semi-Monde during his semester abroad at the British American Drama Academy. Ben would like to thank his family, friends, and “dream team” for all their love and support.
WHITE (he/him) u/s Sam
Theatre credits include: Broadway and LA: The Lion King and Sarafina!; West End: Smokey Joe’s Cafe; Off-Broadway: A Good Swift Kick and Romance in Hard Times. Other credits include Clue: Nick Dear’s Frankenstein, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dreamgirls, Seussical, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Full Monty, Gulls, Miss Saigon, It’s a
Wonderful Life, Purlie, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Five Guys Named Moe, Once on This Island, Ray Charles Live!, and Sister Act. Television: High Potential, The Villains of Valley View, The Rookie, Generation, The Underground Railroad, Kenan, Danger Force, The Kominsky Method, Fresh Off the Boat, How to Get Away with Murder, This Is Us, 9-1-1, Modern Family, and Venice The Series Film: KillHer, Resurrected, I Got the Hookup 1&2, The Way You Look Tonight, Waiting in the Wings 1&2, Opening Night, The Muppets, and Se7en
Athol Fugard (June 11, 1932 –March 8, 2025) started working in the theatre as a playwright, director, and actor in the late 1950s in apartheid era South Africa. He is the author of over thirty plays that have been staged in South Africa, United States (regionally and on Broadway), and across the globe. Notable works include Blood Knot; Hello and Goodbye; People Are Living There; Boesman and Lena; Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act; Sizwe Banzi is Dead; Dimetos; The Island; A Lesson from Aloes; “Master Harold”...and the Boys; The Road to Mecca; A Place with the Pigs; My Children! My
BEN LARSON (he/him)
HARRISON
ATHOL FUGARD Playwright
Africa!; Playland; Valley Song; The Captain’s Tiger; Sorrows and Rejoicings; Exits and Entrances; and The Train Driver. As an actor he was seen on stage in South Africa, London, Broadway, and Off-Broadway. Film appearances include The Road to Mecca, Ghandi, The Killing Fields, Meetings with Remarkable Men, Marigolds in August, Boesman and Lena, and The Guest. He wrote the novel Tsotsi, which was adapted for the screen and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006. A collection of his notebooks has been published along with his autobiographical memoir Cousins. In 2011 he received a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
EMILY MANN
Co-Director
Emily Mann is a Tony Award–nominated playwright and director and a Tony Award–winning Artistic Director, leading McCarter Theatre Center for 30 years where she directed 50 productions, wrote 15 plays and adaptations, and premiered the work of Athol Fugard, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Edward Albee, Danai Gurira, Nilo Cruz, and many others. Her plays seen on and Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally include: Having Our Say; Execution of
Justice; Annulla, An Autobiography; Still Life; Betsey Brown, an R&B musical; Hoodwinked; Greensboro: A Requiem; Meshugah; Mrs. Packard; Gloria: A Life; and The Pianist. On Broadway, she directed her plays Having Our Say and Execution of Justice, Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, and A Streetcar Named Desire. She is currently in development for her new play Code Red. Awards include: Peabody, Guggenheim Fellowship, seven Obies, Hull-Warriner, NAACP Image, Margo Jones; and the Lilly, Gordon Davidson, and Dramatist Guild awards for Lifetime Achievement. She’s been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Theater Hall of Fame.
TARELL ALVIN M c CRANEY
(he/him)
Co-Director & Artistic Director
Tarell Alvin McCraney is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. McCraney created the critically acclaimed, Peabody Award–winning OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network drama David Makes
Man, which was executive produced Michael B. Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. McCraney also wrote the film High Flying Bird which premiered on Netflix and was directed by Steven Soderbergh. McCraney’s plays include We Are Gathered, Ms. Blakk For President (co-written with Tina Landau), The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy, Head of Passes, Wig Out!, and Choir Boy, which was nominated for four Tony Awards. McCraney is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant,” the Joyce Award, the Whiting Award, the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Evening Standard Theatre Award, the New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, the Windham Campbell Prize, and a USA Fellowship Award. He is a lecturer at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television; an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company, UK; an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago; and a member of Teo Castellanos/D-Projects, Miami.
BEOWULF BORITT
Scenic Designer
Designed Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas at Geffen Playhouse. For Emily Mann, he designed Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Turning Off the Morning News, Skylight, The Pianist, The Night of the Iguana, and 20th Century Blues. 35 Broadway designs include the Tony Award–winning sets for New York, New York
and Act One, and the Tony–nominated sets for The Scottsboro Boys, POTUS, Thérèse Raquin, and Flying Over Sunset He has designed for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and designed around the world in England, Russia, China, Australia, and Japan. He received a 2007 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence. Author: Transforming Space Over Time, about Broadway set design. Founder of Obie–winning The 1/52 Project which has provided over half a million dollars in grants to early career designers
SUSAN HILFERTY (she/her)
Costume Designer
Susan Hilferty has designed costumes and scenery for over 400 productions across the globe. A highlight of her career is the long-standing collaboration with playwright and director Athol Fugard—more than 40 productions in over four decades—as a set and costume designer, associate director, and director. Broadway credits include Wicked (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards), Swept Away, Parade, Funny Girl, Present Laughter, Spring Awakening, Lestat, Into the Woods, and August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Hilferty has also designed for opera (Rigoletto, La traviata, Aida for Metropolitan Opera); dance (Love Stories for Alvin Ailey), and live events (Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” world tour and Ringling Bros. Circus). Hilferty’s many honors include three lifetime achievement awards, an Obie, the Lilly
Award, and the Ruth Morley Design Award. Hilferty is on the Graduate Design faculty at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, having served as Chair for 25 years. www.susanhilferty.com
ADAM HONORÉ (he/him)
Co-Lighting Designer
Adam Honoré is a Harlem based designer for the stage. Broadway: Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime, Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride, Purlie Victorious, Ain’t No Mo’, Chicken & Biscuits. Other: Jelly’s Last Jam (New York City Center Encores!), Chez Joey (Arena Stage), Gun & Powder (Paper Mill Playhouse). Adam is a Drama Desk nominee and recipient of the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Design. @itsadamhonore
SPENCER DOUGHTIE (he/him)
Co-Lighting Designer
Spencer Doughtie is a Los Angeles born and raised lighting designer who uses light as a tool to sculpt space and guide narratives. Recent credits include Assistant Lighting Designer on Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts at Boston Court Pasadena and The Brothers Size at The Shed. He is honored to share the stage with such an incredible team of storytellers. @spencerdoubt
UPTOWNWORKS— NOEL NICHOLS (they/she), BAILEY TRIERWEILER (he/him) & DANIELA HART (she/they) Sound Design
UptownWorks is a collaborative sound design team specializing in theater, film, podcasts,
installations, and other media. Recent credits with Geffen Playhouse include littleboy/littleman and tiny father. UptownWorks has also worked with Primary Stages, Boston Court Pasadena, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Round House Theatre, Goodman Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Indianapolis Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Miami New Drama, Hartford Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, INTAR Theatre, WP Theater, Barrington Stage Company, National Black Theatre, Classic Stage Company, Studio Theatre and Signature Theatre (DC), and others. This design was led by Noel Nichols (www.noelnicholsdesign.com), with Bailey Trierweiler (www.btsounddesign.com) and Daniela Hart (www.uptownworksnyc.com).
KOKO IWASAKI NYEMCHEK (she/her) Co-Choreographer
Koko Iwasaki was born in Kanagawa, Japan, and raised in South Florida, where she began dancing at the age of 3. Trained extensively in multiple styles, she began her professional career at just 16. Koko has performed alongside global artists including Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, J Balvin, Shakira, Luis Fonsi, Camila Cabello, and Maluma, appearing on major stages and world tours. She was the run-
ner-up on Season 14 of So You Think You Can Dance and has since returned as an All-Star and mentor. Her credits also include the Grammy Awards, the Savage X Fenty Runway Show, and Dancing with the Stars, both on tour and as a professional dancer. Now based in Los Angeles, Koko continues to expand her career as a dynamic performer and passionate educator.
KIKI NYEMCHEK (he/him) Co-Choreographer
Kiki Nyemchek is an internationally recognized ballroom dancer with over 25 years of experience as a competitor, and is currently an active teacher, performer, and choreographer based in Los Angeles. Throughout his career, he has earned numerous national titles and is ranked among the top Latin dancers in the world. He has performed and choreographed for major television productions including So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, and The Masked Singer. Most recently, his choreography for a televised performance featuring Dick Van Dyke earned him his first Emmy nomination. With a deep passion for teaching and mentorship, Kiki continues to inspire the next generation while sharing his enduring love for the art of dance.
RODNEY GARDINER (he/him) Associate Director
Rodney Gardiner is a performer, playwright, and director whose work spans theatre, television, and film. At the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he is currently
appearing as playwright and performer in Smote This, A Comedy About God… and Other Serious $H*T. Over 13 seasons at OSF, Rodney has performed in numerous productions ranging from Shakespeare and musicals to world premieres, and has also served as assistant director to Tim Bond and Joe Haj. As an actor, Rodney has performed at some of the country’s leading regional theatres, including The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Guthrie Theater, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Kirk Douglas Theatre. His television and film credits include recurring roles on Netflix’s From Scratch and The Brothers Sun, as well as OWN’s David Makes Man Most recently, he can be seen in Nobody Wants This and in the feature film Billy Knight, starring Al Pacino and Charlie Heaton.
DEBORAH HECHT
Dialect & Voice Coach
Broadway: 102 productions including The Balusters, Ragtime, Purple Rain (upcoming), The Great Gatsby, Sweeny Todd, How I Learned to Drive, Hangmen, Angels in America (original and recent Broadway productions), and The Ferryman. The full list can be seen at IBDB.com. Off-Broadway: Anna Christie (St. Ann’s Warehouse), and numerous productions at Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theare, New York Theatre Workshop, MCC Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and many others. Regional/International: Playmakers Theater, William-
stown Theatre Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre (Harry Clarke with Billy Crudup), Seattle Rep, Yale Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, The Huntington, Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, West End (Harry Clarke), and others. Film: Moana (upcoming), All the Money in the World, Under the Skin, and others. TV: Tokyo Vice, We Were the Lucky Ones, The Fall of the House of Usher, Law & Order (Jeffrey Donovan), and others.
AMY LEVINSON (she/her) Dramaturg
During her tenure at the Geffen, Amy has spearheaded numerous programs for commissioning and developing new plays and has shepherded more than 150 plays into production. Dramaturgy credits include the commissions and world premieres of Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still and Coney Island Christmas, Jane Anderson’s The Quality of Life and The Escort, Amanda Peet’s Our Very Own Carlin McCullough, and Michael Mitnick’s Mysterious Circumstances. Other world premieres include The Hope Theory, Black Cypress Bayou, Revenge Song, Actually, Invisible Tango, Extraordinary Chambers, Black Super Hero Magic Mama, Build, Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, and Geffen Stayhouse virtual shows including Helder Guimarães’ The Present and The Future. She holds an M.F.A. in Dramaturgy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
COLLEEN DANAHER (she/her)
Production Stage Manager
Broadway: Godspell, Wonderland, South Pacific, Lend Me a Tenor, Grease, Grey Gardens
Touring: Wicked (2nd National), Hamilton (Philip Company).
Regional: Noises Off, POTUS, Every Brilliant Thing (Geffen Playhouse), Cyrano de Bergerac (Pasadena Playhouse), and many productions at the Vineyard Playhouse on the beautiful island of Martha’s Vineyard. Love to Michael and Gus. <3 to LBB
REBECCA K. HSIA (she/her)
Assistant Stage Manager
Rebecca is an LA and Seattle-based multi-hyphenate artist who has worked all over the world. She holds an M.F.A. in Stage Management from CalArts. Select Stage Manager credits: Geffen Playhouse (Dragon Lady, The Reservoir, Am I Roxie?); Union Arts Center (Shrew); IAMA Theatre Company (RADICAL or, are you gonna miss me?); ArtsWest (Athena); 5th Avenue Theatre (Production Assistant for Rock of Ages, West Side Story, First Draft); Intiman Theatre (Caught, Intiman Emerging Artist Program 2018); Annex Theatre (Silhouette—2018 Gregory Award winner, Best New Play); Centerstage Theatre (Pajama Game, Rapunzel: A Holiday Pantomime). She would like to send love and thanks to her family (especially MP, K9 Max, & Mila) and friends for their endless love and support.
PHYLLIS SCHURINGA, CSA (she/her)
Casting Director
Phyllis is an Artistic Associate and the Casting Director for Geffen Playhouse. Recent productions include: Furlough’s Paradise, Waiting for Godot, The Reservoir, The Inheritance: Part 1 & Part 2 (Artios Award), Every Brilliant Thing, The Power of Sail, Witch, and Barbecue. Before joining the Geffen, she cast for Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago where her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play) and the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award for Best Revival), The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
GIL CATES, JR. Executive Director / CEO
Gil Cates, Jr. is Executive Director / CEO of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for managing the Geffen’s dayto-day operations; developing new, ongoing theater partnerships and leading its mission to inform, entertain and inspire diverse audiences with live theater
of the highest caliber. Prior to being named Executive Director in 2015, Cates served as Geffen Playhouse Board Vice Chairman since 2012 and served as a producer and director in theater, film and television. His theater credits include the award-winning Names (Matrix Theatre Company) and Three Sisters and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre (both at Syracuse Stage). Cates’ film credits include The Surface (starring Sean Astin and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Chris Mulkey), Jobs (starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, as well as Geffen Playhouse alumni Matthew Modine and Ron Eldard) and the 2011 feature film Lucky (starring Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor and Ann-Margret). In addition, Cates co-produced and co-directed the critically acclaimed Life After Tomorrow, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, which premiered on Showtime. His other films include Deal (starring Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison and Charles Durning) and The Mesmerist (starring Jessica Capshaw and Geffen Playhouse alumnus Neil Patrick Harris). Cates’ television directorial debut was an episode of the NBC comedy Joey, starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc. He recently directed Displaced, a documentary short chronicling the journey of one of the first refugee families to flee Ukraine and arrive in the U.S. after escaping the Russian invasion. He studied at the National Theatre Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, and holds a B.F.A. in Drama from Syracuse University.
THE NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Supporting artists is central to the mission of the Geffen Playhouse, and play commissions are a cornerstone of that support. To commission a playwright to write a play means making a commitment to their voice, craft, and vision, with the hope of sharing the fruits of their work on our stage.
We are proud to have the following artists under commission:
LUIS ALFARO
MICHAEL GOLAMCO
NAZARETH HASSAN
BETH HYLAND
MEGHAN KENNEDY
KATIE LINDSAY, TOVA KATZ & ALEXANDRA KALINOWSKI
MATTHEW LÓPEZ
MARTYNA MAJOK
Co-Commission with Atlantic Theater Company
TARELL ALVIN
M c CRANEY & YORK WALKER
QUI NGUYEN
Co-Commission with Manhattan Theatre Club
STACY OSEI-KUFFOUR
JIEHAE PARK
SARA PORKALOB & BRIAN QUIJADA
ESPERANZA ROSALES BALCÁRCEL
JEN SILVERMAN
N’YOMI ALLURE STEWART
Co-Commission with New York Theatre Workshop, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation
DAVID WIENER
LAUREN YEE
For more information on this program, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/newplays.
THE WRITERS’ ROOM
A group for Los Angeles-based playwrights, The Writers’ Room is a product of the Geffen’s deep commitment to supporting new plays and specifically to fostering bold, relevant work by the vibrant artistic community of this city. During this one-year residency, playwright members gather monthly at the Geffen to share their work and receive feedback from their peers and the Geffen’s artistic staff, culminating in a play reading series.
We are proud to have the following artists in the 2025/2026 Writers’ Room:
DIANA YIFEI DAI
LOUIS REYES
M c WILLIAMS
ZHARIA O'NEAL
FRANK PAIVA
RYN STAFFORD
HABIB YAZDI
The Writers’ Room is made possible through the generous support of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
For more information on this program, please visit geffenplayhouse.org/thewritersroom.
GEFFEN AT A GLANCE
CONTACT
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Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm
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Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–6:00pm, as well as on performance days up until 15 minutes after curtain.
Please note: the box office window is unable to process exchanges or future sales one hour prior to curtain time on performance days.
ACCESSIBILITY
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LATE SEATING
Should you arrive late to the theater or vacate your seat during the performance, please expect to be held in the lobby until an appropriate pause in the action on stage. Some productions or circumstances may not allow for late or return seating. To minimize disturbances to other patrons, you may be seated in the first available location by the house staff even if it is different from your assigned seat.
NO PHOTOGRAPHY
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UCLA SCHOOL OF THEATER, FILM AND TELEVISION
Geffen Playhouse is affiliated with the University of California at Los Angeles, specifically the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Geffen Playhouse values its role as an important educational resource by providing students with master classes, workshops and internships. Students are also able to work and learn from distinguished visiting Geffen artists in areas of directing, playwriting, acting, design, dramaturgy, management and production. Geffen Playhouse also draws upon the distinguished experts in the university to enhance the theater’s programs and research.
ATHOL FUGARD WAS MY HERO
Ferocious in his devotion to theatre and social justice, but unfailingly kind and gracious to others, he stood as a moral compass— and not just for apartheid-era South Africa.
BY EMILY MANN, CO-DIRECTOR OF “MASTER HAROLD”...AND THE BOYS
Reprinted with permission from March 19, 2025 American Theatre magazine, a publication of Theatre Communications Group.
FEW PLAYWRIGHTS HAVE MADE A GREATER IMPACT ON THEIR COUNTRIES or the world than Athol Fugard. Athol’s plays bore witness to the horrors of apartheid and brought the people affected by that brutal regime to life onstage. These stories stunned South Africans of conscience, appalled the Western world, and helped bring down the apartheid government. The first play of his I saw was Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, which he co-created with John Kani and Winston Ntshona. I saw it at Chicago’s Goodman Stage Two in 1976, directed by Gregory Mosher. Two actors. Two chairs. A table. And a bare light
bulb. It was like an earthquake. The audience’s silence at the end seemed to last a full minute, until we finally erupted into deafening applause. After the actors left the stage, many in the audience sat down again, utterly spent. I was one of those people, and I would never be the same.
My relationship with Athol didn’t become personal until a few years later. My play Still Life, which premiered under my direction at that same Goodman Stage Two in 1981, was then part of an international theatre festival at the Mark Taper Forum. Presented in the festival was Woza Albert!, a play written by Barney Simon and Mbongeni Ngema (Sarafina!). Mannie Manim designed the lighting and Barney directed. The Still Life company saw Woza, the Woza company saw Still Life, and we immediately recognized we were soldiers
PHOTO BY T CHARLES ERICKSON
Playwright Athol Fugard with Emily Mann
in arms. Barney, who was artistic director of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg at the time, decided to direct Still Life there. Athol saw it. This is what he wrote about it, which I quote from his introduction to my anthology Testimonies, published by TCG:
Another challenging reunion with Barney— firstly his production of E.M.’s Still Life…powerful and very moving…and then a long talk about it and theatre in general afterward. In talking about Mann’s work, he used the word “testimony” several times—I made him check its dictionary definition: “To bear witness”…Barney became very worked up: “We can’t be silent! We must give evidence! We are witnesses!”
Though I had met Athol briefly after a preview of “Master Harold” on Broadway, it wasn’t until I was commissioned to write a miniseries on the life of Winnie Mandela that I spent extended time with him. I had told the producers that I could not write the screenplay from newspaper clippings and research. I had to go. I had to look into Winnie Mandela’s eyes and hear her story from her. They told me she was under house arrest and they didn’t know how to reach her. I called Barney; he called Mbongeni, who knew her well, and he introduced me to Peter Magubane, the great Black South African photographer, and one of Winnie’s best friends. Peter said he would meet with me, and if he approved, he would take me into Soweto to meet Winnie. I studied hard, passed his test, and I spent the next four weeks with her.
After my days with Winnie, I would often meet with Athol to talk about what I had learned. I had come to share his love for South Africa, and our friendship blossomed as we discussed Winnie’s struggle to survive and fight the apartheid regime. Those days were some of the most exhilarating, though dangerous, days of my life, and they gave me the courage to continue to dedicate my life to writing, directing, and producing plays and screenplays dedicated to social justice.
It should come as no surprise, then, that one of my first calls on becoming artistic director of McCarter Theatre in July 1990 was to call Athol Fugard to ask him if he wanted an artistic home in
America. He joyously accepted, and we started a new chapter in our relationship. First, he directed a play of his called Hello and Goodbye with Maria Tucci and Zelko Ivanek, which was greeted with great acclaim.
We then premiered three beautiful plays by Athol. He was struggling to find his subject post-apartheid, and he found it first in Valley Song, a poignant grandfather/granddaughter play set near his home. His granddaughter was played by Lisa Gay Hamilton, and Athol played the grandfather. He went on to write Captain’s Tiger and Sorrows and Rejoicings. In one of my later seasons, we brought over John Kani to direct his son Atandwa in the part his father created in Sizwe Bansi Is Dead. I delighted in seeing our audiences stunned as I had been stunned on my first viewing of that magnificent play.
Athol was a great man of the theatre, ferocious in his dedication and at the same time kind, modest, and attentive to all around him. Our managing director, Jeff Woodward, recalls, “Every day Athol was in rehearsal, he would enter the building and each day make the rounds greeting the staff. He would start with our receptionist and then wend his way down the administrative/artistic corridor, going into each office saying hello to the fundraisers, marketers, accountants, interns, literary managers, and box office, and then back to the production department area before arriving at the rehearsal hall. No artist ever had done this, and it inspired the entire staff.”
Athol is (not was) my inspiration, my moral compass, my hero, and my friend. He proved the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword.” He lived it, often at great cost. He fervently believed in the significant role of the artist in a society facing evil and injustice. I can hear the conversation between him and Barney Simon as if they are talking to us in the present: “We can’t be silent. We must give evidence. We are witnesses.”
I cannot but think he is watching us now as we witness our own country slide into white supremacy and authoritarianism. He showed us the way to resist. Athol is telling us all: We can’t be silent.
To read more about “Master Harold”...and the Boys, visit geffenplayhouse.org/blog.
APPOINTMENTS
BY SUSAN
Remarks prepared for Athol Fugard’s memorial service at his home in Stellenbosch, South Africa on March 21, 2025.
WHEN I ACCEPTED ATHOL’S MEDAL AT THE THEATER HALL OF FAME in New York City—instead of a speech—he asked me to read out the titles of all of his plays.
No more. No less.
I thought about doing that again today, but instead, I am sharing a more personal response.
Those of you who knew him well would have heard him use the word “appointments.”
He had appointments with different seeds that he knew would come up in his writing sometime in the future. He wrote every day and was always looking ahead.
Some of his plays were inspired by newspaper articles or photos that he had tucked away—saving them for the right moment—for that “appointment.”
One was a haunting photograph of the body of a Black man being lowered into a mass grave by a
white soldier in the South African Border War. That turned into Playland
He also held on to a newspaper article which recounted the story of a Russian World War II deserter who spent four decades avoiding punishment by hiding out in a pigsty, leaving only once to take an evening walk dressed as a woman. That became A Place with the Pigs.
Athol gave me the photo of Miss Helen and her friend Jill Wenman that inspired The Road to Mecca. On the back he wrote: “This is the photograph that generated the play. Jill gave it to me. The moment I saw it, saw the love, trust, and fun between the two women, I knew I had it. Had my story. Look after it.”
As Athol’s “appointments” come to life on the stage, I am always very moved by his connection to the mundane, the quotidian, and how he makes humble objects sacred. For me, Athol’s plays hold “epiphanies” that are connected to a simple element or object, seemingly benign, but whose metaphorical power somehow shakes the entire world of the play.
HILFERTY, COSTUME DESIGNER FOR “MASTER HAROLD”...AND THE BOYS
Susan Hilferty with Playwright Athol Fugard
My first memories of Athol are wreathed in smoke—purportedly from a pipe given to him by Samuel Beckett. The objects embedded in Athol’s plays never have the same lineage as a “Beckett” pipe—they have much simpler origins—but always with the possibility of emotionally shattering consequences.
The first of Athol‘s plays that I saw was Sizwe Banzi Is Dead at the Royal Court in London. Years later, talking to John Kani and Athol about that play which they wrote with Winston Ntshona, we laughed at Winston and John’s desire to write a play that would “change the world.” Athol kept coming back to them and saying, “I saw a photograph in a store window of a Black man—with a pipe in one hand and a cigarette in the other—with a big smile on his face. Let’s write about that.” And with that appointment, Athol, John, and Winston wrote a seemingly small play. But with a nuclear power that did change the world.
That evening seeing Sizwe in the theater I remember being transported, even changed, in a way that I had never felt before. When the play ended, I sat there stunned, believing that I had been transported to South Africa and back again. How could that be? Looking at the stage, there was a blackboard, a desk, two chairs. But I was different.
I often talk about seeing Sizwe as a moment that changed my entire life. Five years after that performance, I started working with Athol when he came to direct A Lesson From Aloes in my final year of graduate school. Aloes began our 40-year collaboration—which included so many “Fugardian” places, people, words, and objects—possibly the greatest gift to my life as an artist.
Always special for me is the “humble potato” in The Road to Mecca, which Marius Weyers brilliantly presents as the epitome of joy, fulfillment and simplicity, but then uses to chastise Miss Helen when he asserts that her garden has given way to other pastimes and interests—ones that he discourages.
“Feast your eyes on that, Miss Barlow! A genuine Sneeuberg potato! A pinch of salt and you’ve got a meal, and if you want to be extravagant, add a little butter and you have indeed got a feast!...
We pride ourselves in these parts on knowing what a potato really is. And there you have it. Art Appel The Apple of the Earth, as we Afrikaners say...
In the old days Miss Helen used to have a very fine vegetable garden of her own out there. But as you can see the humble potato has been crowded out by other things. I don’t think there is enough room left out there to grow a radish.”
In “Master Harold”…and the Boys, (where Athol had an appointment with his own self) a child’s toy—a kite—becomes a symbol of innocence caught in the complicated notion of freedom. In this beautiful play, we understand the possibility of hope within a country so divided. Athol’s genius has both Sam and Hally tell their story about the origin of this kite, so that we see the huge complexity of their lives— but also understand and appreciate the differences. It’s impossible not to hear Athol in these words when Mr. M in My Children! My Africa! holds out his hands with a dictionary in one and a stone in the other, and says to us:
“If you put these two on a scale, I think you would find that they weigh just about the same. But in this hand I am holding the whole English language. This [stone] is just one word in that language.
Twenty six letters, sixty thousand words. The greatest souls the world has ever known were able to open the floodgates of their ecstasy, their despair, their joy! … with the words in this little book! Are you tempted? I was.”
A few days after hearing the news of Athol’s passing, I went to my studio, where a lot of shifting of my library had been happening. A small piece of paper had fallen out of one of the books and an assistant had left it on my table. It is a note from the front desk of a hotel back in 1988—back when you got notes.
It says, “Athol phoned. Will call you later”. So I know I have my next appointment.
To read more about “Master Harold”...and the Boys, visit geffenplayhouse.org/blog.
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Geffen Playhouse recognizes the following individuals and organizations for their generous support of our Annual Fund. Donors are listed at the Partner’s Circle level and higher for gifts made between January 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026. A full listing of our supporters can be found at geffenplayhouse.org/thankyou.
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In appreciation, Annual Fund donors enjoy a host of special benefits including concierge ticketing services, complimentary drinks, receptions, and much more.
For more information, please call Anika Waco at 310.208.6500 ext. 195.
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Audrey & Charles Kenis
Lincy Foundation
Fay & Frank^ Mancuso
Tina & Jerry^ Moss / The Moss Foundation
Perenchio Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
The Simms/Mann Family Foundation
Skirball Foundation
University of California, Los Angeles
Wasserman Foundation
Judy & Chancellor Charles^ E. Young
If your name has been misspelled or omitted from the list in error, please contact Anika Waco, Donor Relations Manager at 310.208.6500 ext. 195.
Tarell Alvin McCraney ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC
Amy Levinson
Associate Artistic Director
Daniel Ionazzi
Producer
Phyllis Schuringa
Artistic Associate / Casting Director
Bella Luna
Company Manager
Olivia O’Connor
Literary Manager & Dramaturg
Lexy McAvinchey
Associate Producer
Dionn Richardson
Assistant to the Artistic Director
PRODUCTION
Matt Sweeney
Director of Production
Liz Brohm Hanrahan
Associate Production Manager / Resident Production Stage Manager
Melissa Hartman
Technical Director
Philip Rossi
Lead Scenic Carpenter
Greg Mueller
Stage Operator
Rick Gilles
Properties Master
Jenna Scordino
Assistant Properties Master
Sarah Lindsley
Costume Shop Supervisor
Michayla Van Treeck
Costume Shop Coordinator
Spencer Doughtie
Lighting & Projection Supervisor
Jesus Cambero-Elias
Assistant Lighting Supervisor
James Grabowski
House Sound Supervisor
Bob Gilmartin
Resident A1
ADMINISTRATION
Sarah Sturdivant
Chief Financial Officer
Erick R. López
General Manager
Berenice Campos
Director of Human Resources
Janice Gompers
Payroll Manager & HR Admin
Youra Kim
Accounting Manager
Jake Jones
Staff Accountant
Clay Dzygun
Office Coordinator
Chloe Shi
General Management Associate
DEVELOPMENT
Sam Abney
Director of Development & Strategic Growth
Elizabeth Kegley
Director of Institutional Giving
Cody Metzger
Gil Cates, Jr. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / CEO
Jacob Feller, Jon-Paul Schaut
Box Office Managers
Grace Allen, Tori Eriavez, Peyton Fleming, Cat Hayes, Miranda Heath, Gabrielle Johnsen, Jeffrey Limoncelli, Kayla Page, Camila Robles Ruiz
Box Office Staff
Theater Direct
Outbound Sales
OPERATIONS
Jeni Pearsons
Director of Operations
Advancement & Creative Partnerships
Anika Waco
Donor Relations Manager
Rachel Jacoby
Data Management Coordinator
Zoila Lopez
Development Assistant
EDUCATION
Brian Allman
Director of Education & Community Engagement
Mark J. Chaitin
Manager of Education & Community Engagement
Aja Houston
Education & Community Engagement Associate / Lead Teaching Artist
Sean Michael Boozer,
Paris Crayton III, Sidney Edwards, Margot Fitzsimmons, Erròn Jay, BJ Lange, Tiffany Oglesby, Marta Portillo, Tara Ricasa, Ashley
Denise Robinson, Gerry Tonella
Teaching Artists
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Patrick Brown
Director of Marketing
Zenon Dmytryk
Director of Communications
Karen Gutierrez
Director of Advertising & Audience Development
Brian Dunning
Director of Content & Creative
Zack Hamra
Director of Audience Services & Ticketing
Isaak Berliner
Social Media & Communications Manager
Alyssa Tyson
Audience Services Manager
Mel Yonzon
Front of House Manager
Amy Farkas
Lead Concierge
Rob Mersola
Event Manager
Sarah Chute, Anya Pryjmak
Part Time House Managers
Vanessa Bradchulis, Marlon Campos, Jonathan McGill, Karl Perry, Carsen Schroeder
Guest Services
Savanna Chute, Ryan Foreman, Stephen Johnson, Dylan La Rocque, Shannon Noel, Alex Otto Concessions
Brynn Allen, Emma Cort, Lauren Curet, Enzo De Cunto, Tyler DeLoatch, Sydney Fleischman, Alejandro Hernandez, Ava Kitt, Tiffany La Barbera, James Lambert-Solano, Jalen McKoy, Austin Merrill, Luvina Navarro, Elena Scaringe-Peene, Cody Smith, Myles Williams
Ushers
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Abdelkrim Bouzzit
Cloud System Administrator
Dream Warrior Group
System Administrator
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Art Guillen
Facilities Manager
Felipe Ayala, Juan Santillan
Building Maintenance
Mario Santillan
Custodial Lead
Juan Carlos Umaña, Camerina Martinez
Cleaning Custodial