The Whipping Man

It’s not a pretty story but it is a compelling one. Matthew Lopez’s play The Whipping Man, currently in performances at City Center’s Stage One ambitiously delves into history, religion and racism, told through a reunion of three men just after the end of the Civil War and just before the assassination of President Lincoln. The tension, both political and personal, escalates over the next two hours until it reaches its breaking point.Caleb, a Jewish Confederate soldier (ably performed by Jay Wilkison), returns to his family home in Richmond, VA to find it abandoned save two slaves who are keeping watch on the house until his father returns.  After the wounded Caleb joins the elder Simon (André Braugher) and younger John (André Holland) in the crumbling mansion, relationships are examined and family secrets are exposed while the meanings of slavery and freedom are questioned. Caleb is Jewish and Simon and Andre also practice the family faith, so the three decide to have a Passover Seder despite their limited resources. The ceremony is led by Simon, who is the oldest and most devout of the three men. The matzoh is tack leftover from Caleb’s time in the army and the wine was stolen by John, who has been looting the abandoned neighboring houses. These three very different men come to the table and Simon leads the service, every word of which seems to contain extra meaning and weight to the recently freed, but still not independent, slaves.The premise behind Lopez’s play is intrguing, and it is indefinitely aided by the excellent performances from the cast, but the execution of the play feels formulaic and the plot twists are predictable if one has paid close attention to the script. Caleb’s connection to Simon is more than that of a white man and the slave who served his family, and his relationship with John, revealed close to the end of the play, is not a surprise.  But the script’s shortcomings are more easily overlooked, thanks in part to the dimly lit, gloomy atmosphere onstage.  (John Lee Beatty designed the set, which resembles a haunted house, Ben Stanton did the lighting and Jill BC DuBoff is responsible for the sound design). The promise of horror the show’s beginning offers, is fulfilled shortly into the first scene, when Caleb’s injured leg is amputated by Simon, with the aid of nothing but a bottle of whiskey. This scene is not at all pretty, but it does lay the foundation of how pain can bring people together. That pain remains at the forefront during the entire show, which, while dark and depressing, is a brave and original idea for a show.