'Whipping Man' Speaks Powerfully of Freedom
Matthew Lopez' play, at Northlight Theatre, finds rich symbolism in the unusual juxtaposition of the Jewish faith and the American Civil War. It examines the relationship between slaves and people whose ancestors were slaves.
It comes as a bit of a shock to learn there were Jewish slave owners in the pre-Civil War South, and that they raised their slaves in their faith. That's the starting point for Matthew Lopez' "The Whipping Man" at Northlight Theater in Skokie. History confirms that small numbers of Jews of that time and place did hold slaves; Northlight is holding a series of discussions at suburban libraries to explore that phenomenon further. "The Whipping Man" begins just as the North has won the war and the South lies in ruins. The once-promising son of a wealthy Richmond home, Caleb DeLeon, played by Darek Gaspar, literally drags himself in the door, wounded from serving four years as a Confederate officer. War has been tough on the stately mansion, …
