Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Producing Director Richard M. Parison, Jr., presents the New England premiere of Matthew Lopez's drama, The Whipping Man. The post-Civil War-set play about a Jewish Confederate soldier and his former slaves, who share his faith, will feature Clarke Peters (HBO's Treme and The Wire), LeRoy McClain and Nick Westrate. Christopher Innvar directs the Barrington Stage production at Stage 2 ( 36 Linden Street , Pittsfield ). Performances dates are May 26-June 13. Opening night is May 29 at 8:00pm. To accommodate ticket demand, two additional performances have been added to the run - May 30 and June 6 at 3:00pm. Tickets to The Whipping Man are currently on sale and can be purchased online at www.barringtonstageco.org, by phone at 413-236-8888 or by visiting the Box Office.
At the end of the Civil War, Caleb DeLeon (
Nick Westrate) a severely wounded Jewish Confederate officer returns to his family's home in Richmond , VA. The house is in ruins and has been abandoned except for two newly freed slaves, Simon and John (
Clarke Peters and
LeRoy McClain), reared in the Jewish faith by the soldier's family. As they await the family's return, the three men share a Passover Seder where deeply buried secrets are revealed that threaten to destroy their shared faith, their new found freedom and their hope for the future.
Matthew Lopez, an exciting new playwright, presented Tio Pepe at
The Public Theater's 2008 Summer Play Festival. His other plays include Zoey's Perfect Wedding and Reverberation. The Whipping Man premiered at
Luna Stage in Montclair , NJ and has received productions at Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul , Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton , FL and will open at the
Old Globe Theatre in San Diego , CA in May.
Clarke Peters (Simon) currently stars in HBO's Treme (Albert Lambreaux) and The Wire (Detective Lester Freamon). He's a Tony nominee for Best Book of a Musical for the revue Five Guys Named Moe. His New York performance credits include Broadway's The Iceman Cometh (Theater World Award) and Billy Flynn in Chicago . Regional credits:
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Wiz, Bubblin' Brown Sugar, The Amen Corner, Carmen Jones and Driving Miss Daisy. In London he starred in
Trevor Nunn's production of Porgy and Bess, The Witches of Eastwick and Chicago.
LeRoy McClain (John) Broadway: Cymbeline, The History Boys. Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure, Othello, The Good Negro, Oroonoko, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Huck & Holden, In Search of Stanley Hammer. International: Othello. Regional: The Good Negro, Othello, Blue/Orange, Rough Crossing, Trouble in Mind, Elmina's Kitchen, The Comedy of Errors, Richard II, The Taming of the Shrew, Three Days of Rain, Private Eyes and others. Film: The Adjustment Bureau, After, The Stage, Breaking In. Television: "Rubicon," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Guiding Light." Training: M.F.A. Yale School of Drama,
National Theatre Acting Studio ( London ).
Nick Westrate (Caleb) was last seen as Donald in The
Transport Group's The Boys in the Band. Broadway: A Moon for the Misbegotten (dir.
Howard Davies). Off-Broadway: The Boys in the Band (
Transport Group), MacB***h,
Edmund White's Terre Haute (with
Peter Eyre), PeopleSpeak (59E59), NY Premier of Durang's The Vietnamization of New Jersey, All That I Will Ever Be (NYTW). Regional: Tartuffe (McCarter/Yale Rep. dir,
Daniel Fish), The Merchant of Venice (CalShakes, dir,
Daniel Fish), The Amazons and their Men, Little Black Dress (NYS&F), Edward II (dir.
Sam Gold), A Midsummer Night's Dream (dir.
Joe Dowling). Television: New Amsterdam (FOX). Training: Juilliard.
Christopher Innvar (Director) A company member since 2003, Innvar last directed
Mark St. Germain's The Collyer Brothers at Home and Period Piece at BSC. His performance credits include: A Streetcar Named Desire, Carousel, Private Lives, Ring ‘Round the Moon, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Game. He just finished the sold-out run of The Boys in the Band for The
Transport Group under the direction of
Jack Cummings III. NY credits also include
Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins and
William Finn's A New Brain, Roundabout's 110 in the Shade and Threepenny Opera, Victor/Victoria and Les Misèrables.
The creative team includes
Sandra Goldmark (scenic design),
Kristina Lucka (costume design),
Scott Pinkney (lighting design),
Brad Berridge (sound design) and Kate Cudworth (stage manager).
Performances of The Whipping Man are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30pm, Wednesdays at 2pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 7:3pm at BSC Stage 2, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield. Opening Night: Sat., May 29 at 8pm. Tickets: $15-$45. Seniors: $20 all matinees. Pay What You Can Night for 35 year olds and younger: Fri., June 4 at 7:30pm. For ticket information call 413-236-8888, stop by the BSC Box Office at 30 Union Street , or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.
About
Barrington Stage CompanyBarrington Stage Company, a professional award-winning Equity theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield , MA , was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director
Julianne Boyd. Barrington Stage's mission is three-fold: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways to bringing new audiences into the theatre-especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention with
William Finn and
Rachel Sheinkin's Tony Award-winning musical hit "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," which began as a workshop at Barrington Stage in February 2004, was produced in its world premiere to critical acclaim that summer, and later transferred to Broadway's Circle-in-the-Square Theatre where it played more than 1,000 performances. For more information, log on to www.barringtonstageco.org.
Photo credit: Kevin Sprague
LeRoy McClain, Clarke Peters and Nick Westrate
LeRoy McClain, Clarke Peters and Nick Westrate
