The Whipping Man

Blair Ussary

            Matthew Lopez’s “The Whipping Man” opened to the audience on February 19^th, 2015. The dark, twisted drama centered around Caleb DeLeon (Jean Tartiere) and his two former slaves Simon (William Cogshell) and John (David Jackson) right after the events of the Civil War in April of 1865. An injured confederate soldier, Caleb limps home on a dark, stormy night, to find that his former slave, Simon, has taken residence in the DeLeon home until Caleb’s family returns. The rain seems to hang like an ominous cloud above the cast, as the night’s gruesome events come to a head, and the next two days become the longest of Caleb DeLeon’s life.

            We’ll start with the scenic design of the play. Scenic designer Brad M. Carlson took the audience into a dark, damp world deep in the South. Even though the South is a generally agreed upon hot and humid region, Carlson’s design included a constant backdrop of rain that both soothed and unnerved. For however soothing a gentle rain can be, the fact that the rain never seemed to let up or slow down instilled eeriness across the audience. And one moment that seemed to only enhance the creepiness is the fact that not one actor ever mentions how much rain there is. It’s as if having it rain for three days straight is a completely normal thing. Another noted scenic design that I found quite fascinating is the deterioration of the house. At the beginning of the play, Caleb asks, “What happened to the house?” to which Simon dryly responds, “The same that happens everywhere.” In this, the broken windows and shattered banister is a shadow of what was once meant to be a great, southern home.

            But no set would be complete without lighting. Vincente Wiliams’ design gave the set another layer upon which the actor’s built their story on. For instance, when the gas lamps that are dotted throughout the room light up at the beginning of the third scene, the soft, yellow glow of the lamps seemed to cast haunting shadows across the faces of the sickly Caleb, which only made him look more gaunt and worn. And in the very first scene, when Caleb is sitting still and trying to drink his sorrows away, a wide, overhead light is cast down on Caleb from above, to which we see a chandelier. As I’m sure it was completely intentional, it looked exactly how I would picture that lit chandelier would gaze down at the melancholy Caleb, which was a nice touch.

            Flipping to the actor’s themselves, the costume design was one of my favorite aspects. Costume designer (and director) Clyde Ruffin’s designs were tragically beautiful. When Caleb DeLeon first stumbled into his home, the first thing that drew my eyes was the ripped hole in his right leg. And as it turns out, it was a bullet hole that betrayed a sickening wound underneath. Caleb’s once glorious captain’s uniform is now all but a funeral shroud, a cruel reminder of his cowardice. Whereas Caleb looks beaten and worn, John’s wardrobe only enhances as the play continues. What once starts out as a tatty shirt and worn pants soon comes to a beautiful climax in the last scene of the play, when we see John in a resplendent maroon coat, vest, and pants. The paradox between Caleb and John is highlighted in this moment, even though John’s clothes were most likely “liberated.”

A Whip-Smart Set (An Excerpt)

            MU Theater Production’s “The Whipping Man” would be nothing without its marvelous set, designed by Brad M. Carlson. The constant backdrop of a heavy rain is the first thing the audience will hear, and it will be a constant noise nearly the entire play. This melancholy sound would prove to be almost a foreshadow of the dark times that lay ahead for all three characters, as nobody in this play ends up happy. The broken, damp house and walls paired with the rainy weather beautifully. It seemed like the rain was an oppressive thumb that pushed against the once beautiful house, breaking his windows and its spirit. The almost furniture-less room and busted banister echoed with the sounds of the constant, heavy rain. The peeling wallpaper seemed stripped away by the moisture until all you were left with was the sense that it would hold in that rain forever.

Endgame

       The first play witnessed by the masses at the University of Missouri was Endgame, by the wonderfully confusing Sam Beckett. The interpretation of the play cannot be summed up in a few, short sentences. However, the most basic way one could understand this play is in reading between the convoluted, circling sentences. It is the end of the world, the entire world it seems, and there are only a select few left for the Earth. At the center of this is the character Hamm, a blind and lame recluse who is both hopeful and cynical at the world around him. His faithful but weary servant, Clov, is Hamm's only real companion in his dark world. Hamm's parents, Nell and Nagg, are reduced to living in garbage cans, forever sitting next to each other but unable to properly touch one another. And all of this is told in a dirty, old shoebox of an apartment, with the grey skies tormenting and teasing the characters.

      The first thing that seems to glare at the audience is the desolate and dirty apartment where we see our characters live, designed by Jon Drtina. Clov (played by Alex Givens) rips down the tatty, purple curtains to reveal what is basically a shoebox to the public. It is only when he rips off the blankets to reveal Hamm (played by Michael Bayler) do we realize that this an actual home. The walls are dirty, with what looks like old paint, or what we hope is paint, dripping carelessly down the walls. The floor is covered by sawdust and dirt, but swept into neat little piles all throughout the corners of the room, as if great care was taken to sweep the floor. Even though it seems like this might be a lost cause, there is great pride and care that seems to go into making this hellhole a home. Tiny, out-of-reach windows are covered by threadbare curtains. It seems to be a tease to the audience, and to the characters themselves. You see, the windows are too high up for the audience to see, and the only way that Clov can see out into the world is by grabbing a stepladder and peeking his head out of the window. But, as Clov tells us more than once, there is nothing to see out there.

      Speaking of Clov, he is the first living thing we see, if what these characters are doing is called living. Clov (Givens) is the one to rip down the curtains and stare into the audience with a kind of curiosity, or even awe. He lets out a soft "Huh.", as if what he saw wasn't what he expected. And who knows? Perhaps it wasn't. Maybe he thought there might be something new and exciting behind the worn curtain. Another interesting thing he does is try to clean the apartment (at this point, it's up to the audience to assume that he is the one who sweeps and cleans the place, as he is the only one who is mobile). He tells his master, Hamm (Bayler), that he likes order. That he likes to keep things in order. In a world that seems to be failing and crumbling down around them, it's interesting that this one man seems determined to keep everything in its place. Does this make Clov endearing? Or clueless? That's up to the audience to guess. On the other hand, we have Hamm, the central character to the story. A bitter, older man who refuses to get up from his chair, even to use the restroom! Now, is it because he is actually lame, or because he is so defeated by the world around him that he refuses to get up and acknowledge the end of everything he has ever known? The answer is...both. Or at least, that's the way it seems. Twice, he tries to move himself, or at least his chair, with a gaffe. Now obviously, a normal human being would assume that this is fruitless, as a gaffe can't really help with mobility. But, to Hamm, it's the only chance he has to move about himself, even if just an inch. This could mean to him that he is capable of taking care of himself, in this respect. If only he could move just a little bit....without help. Alas, his efforts prove fruitless, and he sits back down defeated, calling out for Clov. And when he calls out for Clov after his last attempt to move, and Clov doesn't respond, Hamm is silent. The silence stretches for what seems like an eternity. The entire play, Hamm has teased Clov, saying he can't or won't leave Hamm's side. Hamm is too proud to admit it, but he needs Clov more than Clov needs him. And when that silence stretches on for too long, this is when Hamm realizes his is truly, devastatingly, alone.
   
      If you're going to interpret these characters, you have to recognize their clothing. Designed by Kerri Packard, the clothes help highlight to the audiences the squalor that these characters are living in. They wear many layers, indicating that the conditions are cold (this is later confirmed by Hamm and Clov). The many layers look threadbare and tattered. There are holes and patches covering every inch of their wardrobes. There are fringes and threads at the ends of sleeves and at the bottoms of cuffs. The clothes are old and unwashed, giving the already dismal characters another layer of filth to cover themselves with. Hamm, at several points through the play, points out how smelly Clov is, which only confirms the state of the unwashed clothes. The fabrics that the characters have covered themselves with are faded, too, which makes the audience think they are old. From a different time, even. Which also begs the question: When is the play supposed to have taken place? The distant future? The recent past? Even though these questions are never really answered, the clothes never really reveal from what time period they are from, which is a nice touch.


It's the End of the Game as We Know It...(An Excerpt)

     MU Theater Production's "Endgame" by Samuel Beckett opened the spring season of the university's semester. While I may have missed a few hidden messages within the Sam Beckett play, the overarching theme was not lost on me. The minimalist dramedy gave the viewer a sense of cold, isolation. This seems to align perfectly well with a theme that we are all born and will die alone, which is the message that seemed to be the most obvious to me. Although to the regular theater goer, this play was a well-delivered performance of Beckett's dramedy, I would not recommend this to the occasional theater dabbler who is looking for a bit of light entertainment.