Dynamic Cast Breathes Life into "The Whipping Man"

THE CAST:  Jarrod M. Smith, Charlie Robinson and Adam Haas Hunter.

Award-winning veteran performers and a new talent making his professional stage debut form the cast for The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez. Stage, screen and television actor Charlie Robinson last appeared at SCR as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He has received accolades and awards, including the NAACP’s Theatre Image Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Old Globe’s production of The Whipping Man. Adam Haas Hunter is making his SCR debut. He has earned or been nominated for numerous awards, including Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and Ovation awards and has done extensive theatre work regionally. Jarrod M. Smith is making his professional debut, having fallen in love with acting while he pursued a history degree in college. But there’s more to each of these actors; read on to learn more about them.

Adam Haas Hunter (Caleb) is making his SCR debut. He is the co-founder of Poor Dog Group, an L.A.-based arts collective. He theatre credits include The Importance of Being Earnest and Cymbeline at A Noise Within; Prometheus Bound at the Getty Villa; The Nether at Kirk Douglas Theatre; The Government Inspector and Dark Play or Stories for Boys at The Theater @ Boston Court; The Walworth Farce at Theatre Banshee; Medea at UCLA Live; and Romeo i Julia 1968 with Ulysses Theatre in Croatia, to name a few. His appearances with Poor Dog Group include Brewsie and Willie (part of RADAR LA), The Internationalists and The Midnight Sun. Hunter has won or been nominated for Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, LA Weekly and Garland awards. He is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts.

Charlie Robinson (Simon) is becoming a well-known face on SCR stages. His work at SCR includes The Piano Lesson; My Wandering Boy; Fences, which earned him a 2006 Ovation Award for his portrayal of Troy; and Jitney, which earned him a Los Angeles Drama Critics award nomination for his portrayal of Becker. He is the proud recipient of the NAACP’s Theatre Image Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Old Globe’s production of The Whipping Man. Another theatre home has been Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is best known for his television credits, as a series regular in “Night Court,” “Buffalo Bill,” “Love & War” and “Buddy Faro.” He has had recurring television roles in “Home Improvement,” “The Secret Life of an American Teenager,” and “Hart of Dixie.” His guest roles include “House,” “Big Love” and “Cold Case.” He is the CAMIE Award-winner for the made-for-television movies Miss Lettie and Me and Secret Santa. His feature film credits include Apocalypse Now, The River, Gray Lady Down, Beowulf, Set It Off, Antwone Fisher, Even Money, Jackson, Steam, Natural Disasters, Sweet Kandy and House Bunny.

Jarrod Smith (John) is making his South Coast Repertory and professional debut. He is an actor from LaPlace, La., a suburb right outside of New Orleans. Smith attended and graduated from Southern University of Baton Rouge with a bachelor of arts in history in 2011. In 2008, while at Southern, he took an interest in acting, and was immediately bitten by the acting bug. His interest and talents soon led him to the training grounds of the prestigious American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where he worked towards a master of fine arts. Smith now resides in Los Angeles.

Learn more and buy tickets.