Andre Holland and Jay Wilkison Join Andre Braugher in MTC's The Whipping Man

Casting is complete for Manhattan Theatre Club’s forthcoming New York premiere of Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man. Joining previously announced star Andre Braugher will be Andre Holland (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Brother/Sister Plays, Wig Out), and Jay Wilkison (Rent, upcoming film version of Rabbit Hole). The play will begin performances at New York City Center Stage I on January 13, 2011, and open on February 1, directed by Doug Hughes.

The Whipping Man is set in April 1865, just as the Civil War has ended. Caleb DeLeon (Wilkison), a Jewish Confederate soldier, returns wounded from the battlefield to find his family home in ruins, abandoned by everyone except Simon (Braugher) and John (Holland), two former slaves who were raised as Jews in the DeLeon home. As the three men reunite to celebrate Passover and recall the exodus from Egypt in light of their own new liberties, they uncover a tangle of secrets, plus ties that bind them together and, ultimately, might cost each man his freedom.

The creative team for The Whipping Man includes John Lee Beatty (scenic design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Jill BC DuBoff (sound design) and J. David Brimmer (fight direction).