Eclipsed

On Broadway at The Golden Theatre

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Do you want to witness a tale of horror about women captured and abused in Africa during the Second Liberian Civil War?  A tale of unspeakable atrocities, and inhumanity? Perhaps you do not, but the women that had to go through it for real think you should know about it and so does the playwright Danai Gurira.

To begin we are in a ramshackle hut where two women and a girl are holding camp.  The girl has just recently arrived, but the other two have been there so long they are not even sure of their own age. These women came to this fate when rebels troops ran through their village’s mercilessly killing innocent civilians during the Second Liberian Civil War that went on for 6 years.   Those who survived were often alone and separated from their families permanently. These female survivors, forced into slavery have been stripped of their identities and are only known as wife #1 (Saycon Sengbloh) and (a pregnant) wife #3 (Pascale Armand). The women are hiding the girl (Lupita Nyong’o) to try to save her from becoming the next wife, or should I say victim of the General, but it’s not long before the 15 years old joins the list as wife #4.   These women are nearly demoralized and live in constant fear of their lives.   They remain confined to their hut until the General calls for a meal, whether that be food or of a carnal nature.   Wife #2 (Zainab Jah) went with the only other option and joined the rebels and turned from victim to cold-blooded thief and murderer.  These were the choices.   The true beauty in this story is the strength of these women.  How kept under the most deplorable conditions, they held on to hope and a will to survive.  Women bore the brunt of this war and also banded together to stop it.   The peacekeeper that appeared here was Rita (Akosua Busia) dressed in all white, a sign that their freedom was not far behind.  There is superb acting from this entire all female cast.

Not everything can be a pretty little musical.   While there where intermittent moments of humor, this was still not easy to stomach, but it’s important and there is something to be said for social consciousness.  I think Edwin Starr said/sang it best in 1970 with these lyrics: War, huh, yeah…what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, say it again, y'all.   For tickets and more information visit http://eclipsedbroadway.com/ and check my website for available discounts here.   -ThisbroadSway 4/29/16