Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Senior's Northlight production is an aptly unstinting affair that's uniformly well-acted. Gaspar, who is rendered immobile for much of this play, acts a great deal with his eyes, which shift around in terror, trying to assess his current chances and the motivations of a pair of men with whom he has shared his life but now are the ones in power. Parris has just the right note of coiled energy - years of resentment boiling to the surface but still subject to uncertainty and decency. And Rhoze avoids the trap of noble sentimentality with Simon, crucially focusing on the man's constant struggles to reconcile spiritual dignity with a determination that things will, for him, no longer be the same."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...I found it difficult to buy into much of the dialogue in "The Whipping Man," with the characters too often sounding scripted in order to make certain points. But to Lopez's credit, he does not put a neat ending on his play. As we well know, the conclusion of the Civil War was only the prologue to a drama that continues to play itself out nearly a century and a half later."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...As the devout and loyal Simon suggests the trio prepare a seder that holds extra significance at this historical moment, the more defiant John slyly reveals new information that ups the stakes. Kimberly Senior’s effective, compelling production, featuring three poignant performances on Jack Magaw’s handsome unit set, presents a challenging new take on our history of incivility."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...What shines most about Mr. Lopez' work is the humanity of the characters. Even with the most abhorrent of actions, each character is given great breath to make them multi-dimensional. By doing this, The Whipping Man is a unique exploration of trust, faith and forgiveness at a time when the aggrieved began their journey of the concept of freedom."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Of the 150,000 Jews who lived in the U.S during the Civil War, twice as many (6,000) fought for the Union as for the Confederacy. Less well-known is the fact that hundreds of Southern Jews owned, sold, bought and interbred with slaves: One minority in effect profited from the miseries of another. A three-character drama that makes more connections than its small cast suggests, Matthew Lopez' The Whipping Man examines this sub-bondage with compassion and concern. In the interest of turning a small-scale, domestic tale of enslavement into a bigger picture, Lopez may compress into contrivance (and out of context) certain ironic connections within the Jewish population and between masters and slaves, but persuasively shaped by Kimberly Senior at Northlight Theatre it's an unsung story well worth seeing and remembering."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"... The main surprises here is the fact thaturban Jewishhad slavesand that they took up the master’s religion. Who knew? The sins of the pastboil over as their shared pastthatthey can’tescape comes backto haunt them. I thought Sean Parris was tooglibfor therole.Derek Gaspar was terrific and Tim Edward Phoze commanded thestage- he was outstanding. The work’s theme and premise was stronger than the predictable storyline. Still, The Whipping Man presentsa littleknowbitof history that I’m sure many Jews will be surprised and appalled at."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It isn't often that a play reveals a great deal about history that has somehow escaped most of our lives. In "The Whipping Man", by Matthew Lopez, now on stage at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, we are taken back to the end of the Civil War and a Jewish household where the slaves were treated as Jews. In fact, during this period, as it turns out the Jewish population was starting to grow as many Europeans made their way to America, to escape pogroms and religious discrimination."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."The Whipping Man" portrays the vile influence of slavery on otherwise civilized people, brutalizing the slave and morally corrupting the owner. Lopez can be excused for injecting soap opera-ish twists and turns into his play. They are a small price the audience pays for what otherwise is a potent viewing experience."