ETC Presents Regional Premiere of The Whipping Man, Jan 25-Feb 12, 2012
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s 2011-2012 season continues with the regional premiere of The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, one of the nation’s most exciting, promising new playwrights and recipient of the 2011 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award. Directed by D. Lynn Meyers, this historical drama is a riveting story of violence, passion and hope surrounding the tumultuous days following the end of the American Civil War and plays January 25-February 12, 2012. Described as “emotionally potent” by The New York Times, The Whipping Man is one of the most original and thrilling news plays about the history of race, religious identity and what it means to be free.
In the spring of 1865, Caleb De Leon, a Jewish Confederate soldier, returns home to Richmond, Virginia badly wounded. His family gone, the once grand house has been pillaged and burned beyond recognition. Amidst the wreckage are two familiar faces: Simon, the former slave who raised him, and John, the former slave who grew up alongside him, both of whom were also raised as Jews. Out from the rubble of the fallen South, Simon, John and Caleb face one another for the first time as free men as they observe Passover around a makeshift Seder.
Having just closed its extended New York debut less than a year ago, this extraordinary new work is rooted in the largely unknown, but true history of Jewish slaveholders in the South. Jews, although a minority in the American South, did in fact have a long history in Richmond, and Jewish leaders were vocal on both sides of the slavery debate. As was often the case in Christian slave-owning households, slaves of Jewish masters also took up the practices and beliefs of their owners, infusing them with their own perspectives and symbols, using ritual to ground daily living and provide hope for the future.
The Whipping Man is a powerful exploration of lives that come unraveled as the devastation of slavery is revealed in the wake of the Emancipation Proclamation. As we journey along with Simon, Caleb, and John, other less well known consequences of the fall of the American South are revealed: the bankrupting of an economic system based on black bodily labor, the fleeing of wealthy slave-owning families in the aftermath of the Civil War, and the interweaving of Jewish and African American lives and religious beliefs and customs.
“What’s important to remember is that even though the Civil War ended, the story of American slavery and the struggle for equality absolutely did not,” explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. “I love how Lopez sheds fresh new light on an important and defining era in American history. This play reminds us that the struggle for human equality is universal and never obsolete.”
This production is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Artistic sponsor: Schiff, Kreidler-Shell and an anonymous donor in honor of Thomas More College. Promotional partners include: Bridges for A Just Community, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, David’s Voice and Yelp.
Special Performance Event:
Thursday, January 26: a talk-back follows the 7:30 pm performance of The Whipping Man and features Dr. Gary Zola, Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati. In partnership with Mayerson JCC.
About the Cast
Jarred Baugh (Caleb) makes his Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati debut with The Whipping Man. Mr. Baugh lives in New York, where he has performed Off-Broadway with Blue Man Group, The New York Classical Theatre’s production of Henry V, as well as working in commercials and with his sketch comedy group The Polite Society. He was last seen in this area in Romeo and Juliet at Human Race Theatre in Dayton.
Mark St. Cyr (John) makes his Equity debut with Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. Mr. St. Cyr’s regional credits include The Piano Teacher, A Christmas Carol, What’s Bugging Greg, Happy Worst Day Ever, and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Torch-Bearers at Peterborough Players; and Leonce & Lena, Tell It Under Water, and The Kid Who Talked to Penguins at Hangar Theatre. He received a B.F.A in Acting from Elon University, where he performed in Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Country Wife, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Blues For an Alabama Sky.
Ken Early (Simon) recently appeared on ETC’s stage this past December in the world premiere of Snow White. His other ETC credits include The Frog Princess, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, and Grey Gardens. His other regional credits include Adding Machine the Musical and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Know Theatre of Cincinnati. For New Stage Collective, he performed in Dead City, Take Me Out, and Side Show.
Performance & Single Ticket Information
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday. Performance times: Tuesday-Thursday: 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday: 2:00 p.m.
