Ron Canada, Luke Forbes and Adam Gerber Star in George Street's THE WHIPPING MAN, Opening Tonight

The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez opens tonight, January 23, 2015 at George Street Playhouse. The production runs through February 15, 2015 Directed by Seret Scott, the cast features Ron Canada, Luke Forbes and Adam Gerber.

Richmond, April 1865. In this powerful and evocative historical play, a wounded Jewish confederate soldier returns to his family home that now stands ruined and abandoned - except for two former slaves also raised in the Jewish faith. As the three men share an improvised Seder to mark Passover, they discover that, though they are no longer tied by ownership, they remain bound by faith, history and long-buried secrets.

Since opening off-Broadway to critical acclaim and winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play, The Whipping Man has become one of the most produced plays in the country.

The Whipping Man is recommended for ages 13 and up. For tickets and more information, click here.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Ron Canada (Simon) On stage, Ron recently completed Headstrong at New York's Ensemble Studio Theatre (Nominated for an AUDELCO Award). He performed in the Signature Theatre Company revival of Zooman and The Sign and has starred as Iago opposite Patrick Stewart'sOthello at the National Shakespeare Theater of Washington, DC. Ron won a Dramalogue Award for Outstanding Performance for his work in The Boys Next Door. He has starred in Los Angeles productions of Macbeth, Miss Julie and Romulus Linney's Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks (dir. Harris Yulin). The latter two productions were presented at The Odyssey Theater. He performed at The Mark Taper Forum in The Task and Private Battle. At San Diego's Old Globe Theater, Ron originated the role of Joe Louis in the world premiere of Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting and was the second actor in the country to play Troy Maxon in August Wilson's Fences for The GeVa Theater. Other favorite roles include the title role in Sizwe Banzi is Dead (San Jose Rep.), Midge Carter in I'm Not Rappaport (Cincinnati Playhouse) and every Shakespearean role he has ever performed. He recently directed the NY production of The Invested at the 4th Street Theatre as well asLights Up on the Fade Out at the Lillian Theater in LA. Recent film credits include Ted 2 for Director Seth MacFarlane, the box office smash Wedding Crashers as well as the critically acclaimedCinderella Man (dir. Ron Howard). Other notable films include National Treasure, The Human Stain,The United States of Leland, and The Hunted. Ron received the Dallas Film Critics Award and significant national attention for his performance as Otis Payne in director John Sayles' acclaimed feature film Lone Star. His numerous television credits include the made for television moviesReversible Errors (CBS), The Apartment Complex(Showtime), Before He Wakes (CBS) and Clover(USA), as well as appearances on Star Trek (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager);Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5, X-Files, Grimm, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield for FOX, Boston Legal, The West Wing (NBC), Weeds, The Shield, and many others.

Luke Forbes (John) recently performed in the New York premiere of Chiori Miyagawa's This Lingering Life at HERE Arts Center. Other New York theatre credits include The Merchant of Venice on Broadway with Al Pacino (Tony Award nomination for Best Revival), and several others. He will be seen at Baltimore's Center Stage in their upcoming production of Marley, a world premiere musical based on the life and times of Bob Marley. Luke recently wrapped shooting episodes of ABC's Forever and FOX's Gotham in recurring and guest starring roles, as well as episodes from the hit Vimeo web series High Maintenance ('Geiger') featuring Luke in a guest role, and MTV's forthcoming One Bad Choice ('Michelle Gopaul'). Luke has also been featured in several films. Most recently, Luke played a supporting role in Clutter, starring Carol Kane andOrange Is The New Black's Natasha Lyonne. A playwright, Luke is currently penning a number of projects for stage and screen. Educated at Cornell and Harvard Universities.

Adam Gerber (Caleb) Recent credits include numerous ppearances at San Diego's Old Globe in All's Well That Ends Well, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead,
Pygmalion, and Othello, in collaboration with directors such as Barry Edelstein, Adrian Noble, and Nicholas Martin. Other select theatrical credits include Lebensraum off- Broadway at the Abingdon Theatre, Hikobae at The Galaxy Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, and Mendel the Chassid in Sex and the Holyland as part of the NY Fringe Festival. Adam received his master's degree in theater from The Old Globe/USD (Darlene Marcos Shiley Award recipient), his bachelor's degree in theater from The George Washington University, and is a graduate of the
prestigious Stella Adler Studio.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Matthew Lopez (Playwright) is the author of The Whipping Man, one of the most widely produced new American plays of the last several years. The play premiered at Luna Stage in Montclair, NJ, and debuted in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club, garnering OBIE and Lucille Lortel Awards. Matthew was awarded theJohn Gassner New Play Award from the New York Outer Critics Circle for the play. His play Somewhere has been produced at the Old Globe, TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and most recently at Hartford Stage Company, where his play Reverberation will receive its world premiere in 2015. His newest play, The Legend of Georgia McBride, premiered earlier this year at the Denver Theatre Center for the Performing Arts. His play The Sentinels premiered in London at Headlong Theatre Company in 2011. Matthew currently holds new play commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Hartford Stage, and South Coast Rep. Matthew was a staff writer on HBO's The NewsroomYour Face Tomorrow for the screen.

Seret Scott (Director) is pleased to return to George Street Playhouse, where she directed A Raisin in the Sun. As an Associate Artist, Ms. Scott has directed a dozen productions at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego. Off-Broadway directing credits: New Victory, Second Stage, PanAsian Rep. Regional credits: Court Theatre-Chicago where she just premiered Native Son, Actors Theatre-Louisville, South Coast Rep, ACT-San Francisco, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, Two River Theatre NJ, PlayMakers Rep-NC, Indiana Rep, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Tribute Productions DC, Studio Theatre, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep, National Black Theatre, L.A. Theatre Works, Alliance Theatre, ViVo Flamenco, among many others. Ms. Scott authored Second Line, produced by NJ's Passage Theatre and DC's Atlas Theatre, and FunnyTime, a 10-minute play produced by the Public Theatre and Negro Ensemble Co. She is a Drama Desk Award winning actress and is on the Executive Board of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Jason Simms (Scenic Design) Off-Broadway: Urge for Going, The Public;The Bad Guys, Second Stage Uptown; Play Nice! and Ghost Light, 59E59;Headstrong and Finks, Ensemble Studio Theatre Regional: The Whale, Denver Center Theatre Company; A Thousand Clowns, Two River Theatre;Dutch Masters and The Puppetmaster of Lodz, Berkshire Theatre Group;Sweeney Todd, Yale University Dramatic Association; A Bright Swarm of Beetles, Fefu and Her Friends, The Crucible, Ursinus College; RENT, Bristol Riverside Theater; Talley's Folly, Hudson Stage Company. Off-off-Broadway:A Bright New Boise and After, Partial Comfort Productions; DOT and Vendetta Chrome, Clubbed Thumb; American Treasure and Melancholy Play, 13P,MilkMilkLemonade, Astoria Performing Arts Center & The Management; Upcoming: Be A Good Little Widow, The Old Globe, San Diego; Clybourne Park, Chautauqua Theatre Company; The Loudest Man On Earth, TheatreWorks, Palo Alto; MFA: NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. BFA: Cornish College of the Arts; 2012 USITT Rising star Award (sponsored by Live Design/LDI).

Helen Q. Huang (Costume Design) Design credits: Classic Stage Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre, Shakespeare Theater Company, Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Syracuse Stage, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Children's Theatre Company, Disney Entertainmanet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company; Utah Shakespeare Festival. Opera: Boston Lyric Opera. Ballet:The Washington Ballet. International: Set and costume design for National Opera House of China and the Central Television of China. Awards: Helen Hayes Award and Ivey Award. Other credits: Costume design works will be in the Exhibition Costume Design at the Turn of the Century exhibit to be held at the A. A. Bakhrushin Museum in Moscow, Russia in June / July 2015. Huang is a professor of MFA Costume Design Program, University of Maryland, College Park.

Burke Brown (Lighting Design) Recent New York: The Long Shrift directed by James Franco, Stay and BasilicaPhoebe in WinterRepertory Company. International Design: Abbey Theatre (Dublin), Golden Mask Festival (Moscow), Seoul Performing Arts Festival (South Korea), Festival of Two Worlds (Italy) and Opera Erratica (Toronto). Recent dance designs: Aszure Barton & Artists, Alvin Ailey America Dance Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Bayerisches Staatsballett and Houston Ballet. Projection designs: Diverse City Co., the Big Apple Baroque, Yale Baroque Opera Company, and Bone Orchard Collective. MFA, Yale. Member of Wingspace Theatrical Design. Wingspace.com/burke

Ted Crimy (Sound Design) served as sound designer for last season's Our Town, as well as additional sound designs for George Street Playhouse productions of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti and One Of Your Biggest Fans. Before moving to New Jersey in 2011, Mr. Crimy designed sound for regional companies throughout the San Francisco Bay area, including Marin Theatre Company, The California Shakespeare Theatre, Center Repertory, Aurora, and the MFA program at American Conservatory Theatre. He was also a guest lecturer for sound design at St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA.

Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet (Fight Directors) Rick and Christian are creators of Sordelet INC, an exciting combat company bringing over 30 years of action movement experience to the NYC-based theatre community. Their 65 Broadway productions include Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Waiting for Godot and Picnic. Their credits also include more than 61 first-class productions on five continents in hundreds of cities around the world including Ben Hur Live both in Rome and the European Tour. Rick and Christian have been fight directors for dozens of regional theatres around the U.S. Their shows range from Shepard to Shakespeare with four international and national tours currently running. Current projects include Big Love for New York's Signature Theatre and the national tour of Around the World in 80 Days. Both men are first-rate stunt coordinators for television and film with over 1,000 episodes of daytime television and numerous feature films. www.sordeletink.com

Thomas Clewell (Production Stage Manager)The Spitfire Grill, The Last Session, Smoke On the Mountain, De La Guarda Villa Villa, The Film Societywith Nathan Lane, and Anne Meara's Down the Garden Paths with Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach. For Westport Country Playhouse, he stage managed Don't Make Me Laugh with Gene Wilder and Carol Kane directed by Gene Saks. His regional credits include productions for the Kennedy Center, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre and Arena Stage. This year is Mr. Clewell's 23rd year as resident Stage Manager for The George Street Playhouse, where he has stage managed over 50 productions with directors such as Arthur Laurents, David Saint, John Rando and David Hyde Pierce, and with performers such as Jack Klugman, Shirley Knight, Rosemary Harris, Marlo Thomas and Tyne Daly.

McCorkle Casting, Ltd. Pat McCorkle, Casting Director, Katja Zarolinski, Associate. (Pat McCorkle, C.S.A.) has, for over 30 years, cast memorable Broadway productions of; End of the Rainbow, The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, The Glass Menagerie, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Amadeus, She Loves Me, Blood Brothers, A Few Good Men among many others. Notable off- Broadway projects include the acclaimed original New York productions of Hit the WallTribes (Barrow Street), Falling, Our Town (Barrow Street), The Toxic Avenger, Almost Maine, Freud's Last Session, Ears On A Beatle, Killer Joe, Mrs. Klein, Driving Miss Daisy. A partial list of feature film projects include: Premium Rush, Ghost Town, Secret Window, Tony and Tina's Wedding, Basic, The Thomas Crown Affair, The 13th Warrior, Madeline, Die Hard with a Vengeance, School Ties, etc. and for television, humans for Sesame StreetCalifornication (Emmy nomination), Max BickfordHack (CBS) Strangers with Candy, Barbershop, Chapell's Show among several others. www.mccorklecasting.com

The Blanche and Irving Foundation was established in 1983 by New Brunswick philanthropist Irving Laurie. The Foundation supports a variety of projects across broad issue areas. The 2014-2015 program of cultural support currently includes: Lincoln Center Theater's revival of The King and I; Roundabout Theatre Company's revivals of Cabaret and On the Twentieth Century; New York City Center's famed Encores! Series; NJPAC's Cabaret
series; the public television series American Masters and WNET's presentation of the documentary film Jimmy Van Heusen: Swinging with Frank & Bing. The Foundation is proud to report that over the last twenty years it has provided approximately $68 million in grants to philanthropic endeavors, addressing the Foundation's interest in the arts, education, health care and social services.

David Saint is in his 17th season as Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse. In that time, he has directed 33 mainstage productions, most recently Outside Mullingar; Clever Little Lies, which is slated for its New York debut in early 2015; Good People, Twelve Angry Men, God of Carnage,Creating Claire and Sylvia. His time here has been marked by collaborations with such artists as Keith Carradine, Tyne Daly, Rachel Dratch, Sandy Duncan, Boyd Gaines, A.R. Gurney, Uta Hagen, Jack Klugman, Dan Lauria, Kathleen Marshall, Elaine May, Anne Meara, David Hyde Pierce, Chita Rivera, Paul Rudd, Stephen Sondheim, Marlo Thomas, Eli Wallach and many others, including a remarkable partnership with Arthur Laurents. In addition, many new award-winning works have begun their life here during his tenure, such as The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Clever Little Lies and It Shoulda Been You. He most recently directed Clever Little Lies at Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY, and the National Tour of West Side Story. He also has directed on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, McCarter, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Long Wharf and many others on premieres by writers such as Aaron Sorkin, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Parnell, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Joe Di Pietro and Jonathan Larson. He is the recipient of the Alan Schneider Award, Helen Hayes Award, L.A. Drama Critics Award, several Drama-Logue Awards and is the President of The Laurents/ Hatcher Foundation.

Kelly Ryman was appointed Managing Director in July of 2013. She served as Director of Marketing and Public Relations since 2000, spearheading promotional efforts resulting in the top 10 highest grossing productions in the Playhouse's history. Off-Broadway, Kelly was a member of the marketing team for The Toxic Avenger, which won the 2009 Outer Critics' Circle Award for Best New Musical. She has served as Chair of Jersey Arts Marketers for the Central New Jersey region, as well as Co-Chair of the Communications Committee for New Jersey's ArtsPlanNJ, and the marketing committee for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. She also serves on the Board of Directors of New Brunswick City Market as well the Advisory Boards of the New Brunswick Press Association and Elijah's Promise. Prior to her tenure at George Street Playhouse, Ms. Ryman served as Associate Director of Marketing at McCarter Theatre Center for the Performing Arts. She was recognized in 2012 by ArtPride NJ with their Arts Leadership Award for her service to the theatre and arts communities.

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