Theater Review: ‘Eclipsed’

Putting faces on the collateral damage of war

ECLIPSED PLAY ORIGINAL JOHN GOLDEN THEATRE 252 W. 45TH ST. toggle menu Large Logo John Owen Jones - Homepage Extra John Owen Jones - Homepage Extra toggle search form LATEST VAULT SHOWS JOBS DISCOUNTS TRAVEL LATEST NEWS RELATED An Exclusive Look at London’s Hand to God Opening Watch Stephen Colbert Dance Into Fiddler on the Roof (For One Night Only) Intiman Theatre Puts Black Female Writers Center Stage Steve Kazee to Star in Nancy Drew Spinoff Michael Polish Picked to Direct Mamet's Speed-the-Plow Film Last Undeveloped Theatre on 42nd Street Gets New Tenant 52 NEW STORIES ECLIPSED - CAST Person Placeholder Lupita Nyong'o as The Girl Pascale Armand Pascale Armand as Bessie Person Placeholder Akosua Busia as Rita Person Placeholder Zainab Jah as Maima Saycon Sengbloh Saycon Sengbloh as Helena Person Placeholder Ayesha Jordan as The Girl (Standby) ECLIPSED - PRODUCTION CREDITS Danai Gurira Danai Gurira Playwright Person Placeholder Liesl Tommy Director Person Placeholder Clint Ramos Scenic & Costume Design Person Placeholder Jennifer Schriever Lighting Design Person Placeholder Broken Chord Original Music and Sound Design Person Placeholder Cookie Jordan Hair, Wig and Make-up Design Person Placeholder Cookie Jordan Hair, Wig & Make-up Design Kyle Brown Kyle Brown Associate Director Person Placeholder Ryan Howell Associate Scenic Designer Person Placeholder Christopher Vergara Associate Costume Designer Person Placeholder Ben Green Associate Lighting Designer Person Placeholder Michael Prieto Associate Sound Designer Person Placeholder TJ Weaver Assistant Director Person Placeholder Aurora Productions Production Management Person Placeholder Diane DiVita Production Stage Manager Person Placeholder Gwendolyn M. Gilliam Stage Manager Rick Sordelet Rick Sordelet Fight Director Christian Kelly-Sordelet Christian Kelly-Sordelet Fight Director Beth McGuire Beth McGuire Voice and Dialect Beth McGuire Beth Mc

NEW YORK—There are no real winners in war, only survivors. Playwright Danai Gurira makes this point crystal clear in her initially quiet, yet ultimately riveting play “Eclipsed,” now at Broadway’s Golden Theatre.

Liberia, 2003: A country on the African coast has been torn apart by two bloody civil wars stretching back more than a decade. Two women are virtual prisoners in a rebel compound: the elder, Helena (Saycon Sengbloh), designated as “Wife #1,” and a rather pregnant Bessie (Pascale Armand), “Wife #3.” Both were captured during attacks on their respective villages.

The play clearly shows that for a lasting peace to come, it must offer more than simply the laying down of arms.