Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Whipping Man, Seeking Justice Here on Earth

My folks have had Rep season tickets for years and this visit Natureman and I were fortunate to be able to accompany my Dad to Little Rock's powerful production of  'The Whipping Man' written by a new talent Matthew Lopez.  In the "Whipping Man" both Master and slaves share a past and its secrets. 

Its story deals with issues of race, religion and freedom as it takes place in a Jewish Virginia home owned by the DeLeon family after the Civil War has ended. 

The son of the DeLeons, Caleb, a Confederate officer has returned home badly injured to discover his home in ruins, his family missing and two former slaves, Simon and John, now 'newly freed' who also have been raised as jews within this very household. 

The year is 1865, Lincoln has been shot and it's Passover when Jewish families are celebrating the annual holiday of freedom from bondage. The question of why is this night different than all over nights takes on even more ironic significance as asked by Simon, a newly freed slave. 

Slaves whether living in Christian/ Jewish homes  adopted the religion of the oppressor. My book group just reviewed the "The Invention of Wings" which spoke of the mandatory church attendance where slaves had benches in the back of their master's church and Sunday school for the slave children taught by the master's older children. I had always assumed the master and slaves had their own places of worship. I had never even thought about a Jewish household during this time... How does a once enslaved people own slaves? 

If this play comes to your area, treat yourself to an emotional theater piece with sharp yet humorous at times dialogue. Most performances have post show talk backs.  The play certainly sparked a lot of conversation between us regarding the psyche of these 2 groups who experienced slavery in the histories of their people as they establish justice here on earth. If you've seen it and want to discuss, do share your impression. One critic wrote, "Slavery and war warp even good men's souls."

In the Rep's foyer were fascinating informative historic displays regarding slaves in Jewish households and Reconstruction.



Reconstruction in Arkansas




I listened to an interview which you might also find interesting. 
Here's the link:Author/Actor Interview




 



1 comment:

  1. This sounds interesting. I read the Invention of Wings and enjoyed it thoroughly.

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