I Interview Playwrights Part 185: Matthew Lopez

Matthew Lopez

Hometown: Panama City, FL



Current Town: Brooklyn, NY

Q: Tell me about the play The Whipping Man.

A: The Whipping Man focuses on the period immediately following the surrender at Appomattox, which ended the Civil War and effectively freed all the rest of the slaves still being held in southern states. I've long been fascinated with the idea that history is made up of more than just great, calamitous events; it is also the quiet moments (which, in truth, are never all that quiet) ...