Full Cast Set For MASTER HAROLD...AND THE BOYS at Geffen Playhouse
The cast includes Ben Beatty, Nyasha Hatendi, and John Kani.
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 27, 2026
Geffen Playhouse has announced the full cast for its production of “Master Harold”…and the Boys, written by four-time Tony Award nominee and recipient of the 2011 Special Tony Award Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, Athol Fugard (The Island, A Lesson from Aloes). The production is co-directed by Tony Award–nominated director and playwright Emily Mann (Anna in the Tropics, A Streetcar Named Desire), alongside Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney. Rehearsals begin Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
The cast includes Ben Beatty (Hail, Caesar!, UFO) as Hally; Nyasha Hatendi (King Charles III, The Seven Dials Mystery) as Willie; and John Kani (Black Panther, The Lion King) as Sam. John Kani previously appeared in the 1984 filmed adaptation of “Master Harold”…and the Boys in the role of Willie, alongside Matthew Broderick and Zakes Mokae.
Regarding Kani's return to The Geffen Playhouse production of "Master Harold"...and the Boys after more than four decades, now in the role of Sam, director Emily Mann said, "John Kani and I share a long relationship with each other and Athol Fugard. The idea of John's lived wisdom and age coming to bear on the role of Sam seemed so right to me. When I wrote to John to ask him to play Sam, he immediately answered yes. He, like I, was looking for a way to honor Athol the year of his passing, and "Master Harold"... and the Boys at the Geffen under Tarell's artistic leadership seemed the perfect opportunity to honor him together."
Previews for “Master Harold”…and the Boys begin Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in the Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse. Opening night is Thursday, April 16, 2026.
Step into the charged atmosphere of a 1950s South African tea shop in Athol Fugard's “Master Harold”…and the Boys, a gripping, deeply personal drama that unflinchingly confronts the realities of race, power, and betrayal. On a rainy afternoon, Hally, a white teenager, passes the time with Sam and Willie, two Black waiters who have helped raise him by filling the gaps of a broken home with warmth, wisdom, and laughter. But as the day unfolds, playful memories give way to painful truths, and a single moment threatens to shatter the fragile bond between them forever.
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