The Whipping Man

Mar 25, 2015 - May 3, 2015

Venue: Pollock Stage

By Matthew Lopez

Starring: Michael J. Asberry as Simon, Sean Patrick Nill as Caleb, Anthony Simone as John

Directed By: Buddy Butler

Running Time: Two Hours Five Minutes

Parental Guidance: Appropriate for Middle School Age & Up (Due to Some Adult Themes and Language)

Community Partnership: Wounded Veteran Run

Showtimes
S M T W T F S
2:00pm 6:30pm 6:30pm 8:00pm 2:00pm 8:00pm

Synopsis

Preview performances March 25 – 28; Opening Night is March 28.

The Whipping Man is one of the most widely-produced new American plays of the last several seasons. The play premiered in New York City in 2010 at Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Andre Braugher. The sold-out production extended four times, running 101 performances Off-Broadway.

It is Passover, 1865. The Civil War has just ended, and the annual celebration of freedom from bondage is being observed in Jewish homes across the country. One of these homes, belonging to the DeLeons of Virginia, sits in ruins. Confederate officer Caleb DeLeon has returned from the War to find his family missing and only two former slaves, Simon and John, remaining. Caleb is badly wounded, and the two men are forced to care for him. As they await the family’s return, the three men wrestle with their shared pasts as master and slave, digging up old and new family secrets along the way. Slavery and war, they discover, warp even good men’s souls. This affecting, suspenseful, and often searing play strips the skin off such lofty ideas as freedom and honor to peer at the raw nerves underneath and lay bare the cost paid for such lofty notions.

The author, Matthew Lopez, was awarded the John Gassner New Play Award from the New York Outer Critics Circle for the play. His play Somewhere premiered at the Old Globe and has been subsequently produced by TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and, most recently, at Hartford Stage Company. Other plays include The Legend of Georgia McBride, Reverberation, and The Sentinels. Lopez currently holds new play commissions from Hartford Stage Company, Manhattan Theatre Club and South Coast Repertory.

Join us for our free Prologue Series in the Theatre 45 minutes before each regularly scheduled subscription performance and learn more about the play, the author, and STC’s production in advance of the performance.

Members of the United States Military may purchase $25 tickets to The Whipping Man (that’s $13 off the regular price) by calling or visiting the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office.

Group rates and special student performances available. Please contact Group Sales at 916-446-7501 ext 120 or lawj@sactheatre.org for more information.

*Note that seating in the Pollock Stage is general admission, first-come, first-served seating, at the discretion of STC House Management. Seating opens approximately one hour before the performance.

Preview of The Whipping Man in the Sacramento Bee

Michael J. Asberry (foreground), Anthony Simone (left), and Sean Patrick Nill (left) in STC's production of The Whipping Man.

Michael J. Asberry (foreground), Anthony Simone (left), and Sean Patrick Nill (right).

Sean Patrick Nill as Caleb in The Whipping Man

Sean Patrick Nill as Caleb

Anthony Simone as John in The Whipping Man

Anthony Simone as John