Empowering, shocking and vulnerable, Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed” might be one of the most important plays ever to hit Broadway. I went to see the show during the Stanford Arts Institute’s Arts Immersion trip in New York City over spring break. All I knew about it was the immediate critical acclaim it drew for telling a powerful story about five black women. Other than that, I had no idea what to expect. The only notion I had going in was that the story presented onstage would make me think about and connect with the lives of the women — expectations which were undoubtedly surpassed.
“Eclipsed” tells the story of a group of wives during the Second Liberian War in 2003, when rebel groups fought to depose then-president Charles Taylor. The women live in an army camp belonging to the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy. Three of the characters are wives of a commanding officer. One is an ex-wife turned soldier and the last is a peace organization worker.
I call “Eclipsed” “revolutionary” because historically, it is redefining what we see on the Broadway stage. The entire cast and the majority of the creative team is the first in Broadway history to be composed entirely of black women. Broadway has a history of predominantly white audiences; the Broadway League’s 2014-15 demographic survey found that 80 percent of tickets were bought by Caucasians. Observing the demographics represented in the seats of the John Golden Theatre, I found myself surrounded by one of the most varied audiences I have ever seen at a professional stage show — perhaps reflecting an emerging, diverse American audience.
Watching the show, one keeps expecting a male character to walk onstage. However, the absence of a central male character makes the females and their experiences even more powerful and visceral. Getting to focus solely on their perspectives is the show’s true draw.
Its star-studded cast packed in powerhouse performances on all accounts. In her Broadway debut, “12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o was breathtakingly beautiful as the 15-year-old Girl who becomes the youngest wife of the commanding officer. Her honesty and charisma were apparent through her bold gestures and clear projection, and her body manipulation was a powerful tool for character development. Nyong’O changes her posture and rhythm of walking depending on what her character feels at any particular moment. For instance, when the Girl is raped by her new husband, Nyong’o’s blank stare and careful stumbling powerfully revealed an encounter the audience never witnesses, creating an even more hauntingly visceral image of a broken girl.
As the protecting figure of the other wives, the role of Helena, (Wife #1), shined through the dynamic performance of Saycon Sengbloh (“American Gangster,” “The Good Wife”). Sengbloh’s harsh voice toward the other wives established her power over them, yet her unwavering calm tone in other scenes showcased the more sensitive sides to the character. Her happiness and light laughter in the shack where the wives lived makes her guarded attitude with outsiders all the more heartbreaking.
The sparse technical features highlighted the restrictive war environment present in the play. The central set-piece, an intimate bullet hole-ridden shack, allowed Gurira’s raw and honest dialogue to stand well on its own. A recurring lighting effect summoned the wives to the Commanding Officer’s bedroom throughout the show. Such an effective devise signals the emotional turmoil about to ensue, giving the out-of-the-know audience the knowledge of the danger these women face on a daily basis.
A surprising yet strong aspect of “Eclipsed” was the constant meaningful humor it imposed amongst intense subject matter, a feat hard to accomplish in any show dealing with war. For example, since only one of the wives can read, she must tell stories to the other three wives through a stumbling, halting grasp of English. The way in which the wives misunderstood words in the text they read — including an outdated biography on Bill Clinton — makes for meaty comedy, serving as a breather from the somber plot. Beyond the laughs, however, the juxtaposition of dark humor between the wives’ inside jokes and their lack of education and basic living necessities was shocking. Jokes created a gateway for the audience to lose themselves in the storyline without being overwhelmed by darkness.
The play’s most effective feature is its decision to present most of the violence and crime offstage. With war atrocities as a central internal struggle for all of the characters, the images crafted before audience-members were more powerful than anything that could have been depicted onstage. “Eclipsed” raises crucial questions on life in a war-ravaged country, the danger of military men in power and how women soldier on in spite of dangerous conditions. The lack of spectacle surrounding the central violence creates a heart-wrenching and emotionally impactful theater experience reliant on the viewer’s imagination.
A celebration of diversity and the mighty power of women, “Eclipsed” is the perfect piece for educating and entertaining a modern American audience on issues which typically go unseen and unreported.
Contact Bella Wilcox at belwilc ‘at’ stanford.edu