PCPA Presents: The Whipping Man

Plunge into the heart-wrenching chaos of war-torn Richmond. The Civil War is over and throughout the south slaves are being freed, soldiers are going home, and in Jewish homes the annual celebration of Passover is being celebrated. Young Confederate officer Caleb DeLeon arrives home, severely wounded, to find it in ruins and abandoned, save for two former slaves, Simon and John. While the three men await the family’s return, they wrestle with their shared past and the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning. As the sun sets on Passover and the last vestiges of the defeated Confederacy, Simon – having adopted the religion of his masters – prepares a humble Seder to observe the ancient tradition of the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. But not even this tradition can sooth the pain of their enslavement, cover the deep-buried secrets from the past or prepare them for the reality of the new world in which they find themselves.

Runs March 9-26 at the Severson Theatre. Visit PCPA.org for specific showtimes and ticket information.