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A CurtainUp New Jersey Review
The Whipping Man
Award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez's unorthodox (no pun-intended) drama about three Jews, two of whom are African-Americans, former household slaves intriguingly considers the presence of well-to-do, property and slave-owning Jews as an historical reality in antebellum Richmond, Virginia. In the George Street Playhouse revival the Ron Canada, Adam Gerber, Luke Forbes are expertly and sensitively directed by Seret Scott, who previously directed a fine revival of A Raisin in the Sun for the George Street Playhouse. The dramatics are mostly confined to talk, much of it incendiary and also perhaps with just a little too much exposition. However, there are some fist-clenching and mind-bending moments that lead to the climactic Seder. The idea of Jews observing Passover — an event that celebrates the time of their freedom from slavery in the land of Egypt — who would find themselves slave-holders centuries later adds a fascinating and sadly ironic note to the drama. Flecked with humorous moments and just as many fired by lingering and unresolved rage, The Whipping Man casts an almost haunting spell. This is apparent in Jason Simms' crumbling setting and Burke Brown's moody lighting. The Whipping Man opened in New York at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2011 following a number of regional theater productions. It wan the Outer Critics Circle's coveted John Gassner Award for an Outstanding Play Written by a Young American Playwright and continues to be produced with great success across the country and elsewhere. I can't imagine a finer production than the one now at the George Street Playhouse For more plot details, see CurtainUp's review of its New York premiere here.
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