Dear Friends, For almost 25 years, Steppenwolf Theatre has been doing challenging theater for young audiences. The approach of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, part of the Arts Exchange program, is that exhilarating theater need not be altered or amended because we present our work to a school-age audience. We regard our student patrons as young adults, sophisticated and mature enough to deal with bold, at times difficult, material in its original form. We are pleased to continue this tradition with “MASTER HAROLD”… and the boys by Athol Fugard. Among the themes addressed in this play are: the political vs. the personal, teacher vs. student, and the coming of age of a boy. These are all themes about which Steppenwolf for Young Adults productions aim to help advance a dialogue. We hope that the show you’re about to see will spark lively, even heated, discussions among you. Athol Fugard, a South African playwright, focused most of his work on the injustices of Apartheid. Under South Africa’s Apartheid government, Fugard’s plays were labeled subversive and officials attempted on several occasions to prevent their public performance. "MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys was officially banned by the South African government. Thankfully, the wider world recognized the merits of Fugard’s work, and the play has been presented on Broadway, where it earned the Drama Desk Award and Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1983, and received acclaimed productions in London and other cities around the world. While it would be naïve to claim that the work of a single playwright had toppled an entire regime, it is undeniable that Fugard’s work exerted an influence – educating the world about the ills of Apartheid, and, eventually, helping to bring the collective pressure of many nations to bear on the South African government. I hope you will enjoy your experience of this powerful and moving play, and that you and your friends will take the discussion of its ideas out of the theater and into your classrooms and into your homes. Hallie Gordon Director of Arts Exchange
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Meeting "MASTER HAROLD"... and the boys
by Hallie Gordon
Dear Friends, For almost 25 years, Steppenwolf Theatre has been doing challenging theater for young audiences. The approach of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, part of the Arts Exchange program, is that exhilarating theater need not be altered or amended because we present our work to a school-age audience. We regard our student patrons as young adults, sophisticated and mature enough to deal with bold, at times difficult, material in its original form. We are pleased to continue this tradition with “MASTER HAROLD”… and the boys by Athol Fugard. Among the themes addressed in this play are: the political vs. the personal, teacher vs. student, and the coming of age of a boy. These are all themes about which Steppenwolf for Young Adults productions aim to help advance a dialogue. We hope that the show you’re about to see will spark lively, even heated, discussions among you. Athol Fugard, a South African playwright, focused most of his work on the injustices of Apartheid. Under South Africa’s Apartheid government, Fugard’s plays were labeled subversive and officials attempted on several occasions to prevent their public performance. "MASTER HAROLD”…and the boys was officially banned by the South African government. Thankfully, the wider world recognized the merits of Fugard’s work, and the play has been presented on Broadway, where it earned the Drama Desk Award and Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1983, and received acclaimed productions in London and other cities around the world. While it would be naïve to claim that the work of a single playwright had toppled an entire regime, it is undeniable that Fugard’s work exerted an influence – educating the world about the ills of Apartheid, and, eventually, helping to bring the collective pressure of many nations to bear on the South African government. I hope you will enjoy your experience of this powerful and moving play, and that you and your friends will take the discussion of its ideas out of the theater and into your classrooms and into your homes. Hallie Gordon Director of Arts Exchange