Check out and you鈥檒l see UofL鈥檚 own setting the stage.
Theatre Arts teamed up with Bunbury to produce the show as part of the department’s ongoing commitment to community outreach and connecting with other local and regional theatres.
“Master Harold and the Boys” runs through June 24 at the Henry Clay Theatre, 604 S. Third St.聽
, UofL professor and head of graduate acting program, is聽directing, while , department chair, designed the lighting and set. The three-person cast features two recent graduates from the program, Tyler Madden and Cameron Murphy.
Kelly said the collaboration came about when he and Bunbury Producing Artistic Director Juergen K. Tossmann met and decided to work together. Kelly thought the play 鈥淢aster Harold and the Boys鈥 would work well for the Bunbury audience.
鈥淭his show has resonance with issues in the country today with the current political climate,鈥 he said.
罢丑别听辫濒补测,听产测听, is set in a small South African tea shop in 1950. In it, two black men and a white boy joke and dance together, defying the brutalities of apartheid through their joyous love. But issues of family, race and power fester just below the surface. A phone call triggers a catastrophic moment between them.
鈥淢aster Harold鈥 ultimately explores the profound personal consequences of oppression.
鈥淭he sad echoes of the play are telegraphed in our own time and place,鈥 Kelly said. 聽
Kelly said the actors have risen to the challenge, a sentiment reflected in a recent review. 聽
鈥淏unbury Theatre鈥檚 current offering, 鈥楳aster Harold and the Boys,鈥 is a worthy production of a difficult and important play,鈥 . 鈥淭his is an excellent production of a masterful script. I truly hope we continue to see Kelly, Gawley and the other professors and students at UofL continue to reach out into the community and help usher quality work onto our stages.鈥澛
To hear more from Kelly, Madden and Murphy about the show, tune into UofL Today with Mark Hebert at 6 p.m. June 18 on 93.9TheVille.聽Or, on Soundcloud.
