Doin' It For Themselves... ECLIPSED and the Black Female Revolution
by Rod Gailes OBC
Last night I had the pleasure of being present when the all-female cast of ECLIPSED made history as perhaps the only play ever on Broadway written by a Black female playwright, with a Black female director, and starring an entirely Black female cast.
With “Fun Home,” “Hamilton,” and, now, Danai Gurira’s freshly minted classic, Oskar Eutis and the entire team at The Public Theater are holding Joe Papp’s torch High and Proud in the midst of Broadway’s Platinum age. But unlike those other two commercial hits, ECLIPSED is not a musical. This is a touching, classically written, BLACK AFRICAN play.
When will this happen again? When has it EVER happened? That question alone had me near tears 10 minutes into the play. And so… I am biased. As an artist who works to include varied representations of Black people in my work, I was tickled by the joyful tone of familiarity that rose from the decidedly mixed audience last night. You could hear the note of group surprise in their voices as we made human connections and found common ground in the world of 2003 Liberia.
People of all backgrounds sat in the dark, shoulder to shoulder, experiencing a play about Black African, female sex slaves, peace workers, and soldiers. They watched those women navigate the gifts of LIFE and CHOICE and saw a bit of themselves reflected in the process. THAT is a sacred mission and one rarely taken up on the commercial stage.
Remembering our sacred nature: Ms. Gurira channels that mission into “Rita,” a former successful business woman, who realizes the insignificance of money without a passionate connection to our past, our name. As played by Akosua Busia (The Color Purple), she becomes mother of all, compelling us to remember who we were before the traumatic events of life’s journey.
Directly before curtain, I attended a networking event where I met a producer who had tried to invest in “Eclipsed” but couldn’t because of the high demand to be part of this “happening.” That “demand” on the part of investors was created by the presence and growing visibility of Lupita Nyong’o whose beauty, mystique, and Oscar status fuel more fetishized fantasies than we actually realize. #THEY repeatedly refer to her at cocktail parties as “luminescent.” It is that interplay between the glamour of the woman herself and the gritty girlish quality of her roles as “Patsy” (12 Years a Slave) and here as “The Girl” in ECLIPSED that confirm for mainstream audiences she is indeed “acting.” That willingness to eschew her Vogue validated glamour and put on a beautifully designed, nappy top knot pony tail (Cookie Jordan’s wigs are bananas as usual!) to portray a Black girl in jeopardy is the main reason a show like ECLIPSED can get financed. That is an amazing use of one’s star power, and Lupita brings that decidedly to the table.
The production is great on all fronts, even in the 1st preview. Director Liesl Tommy allows the classic simplicity of the play’s drama to comfortably unfold, adding just the right amount of sonic and spectacle elements to justify a Broadway ticket price.
Saycon Sengbloh (Motown, Hair, Wicked, FELA) gets a world class platform to showcase her considerable acting chops. With a masterful dry wit, dramatic gravitas, and a rhythmic vocal patois, her portrayal of Helena/Wife #1 is the fulcrum upon which everything pivots. Lupita sells the tickets, and the amazing ensemble surrounding her, anchored by Sengbloh, keeps us riveted.
Jainab Jah as “Maima” violently opts out of the “bush wife” sisterhood to take up a “kill” position in the “dog eat dog” civil war as a soldier. Preferring to hunt rather than be prey, she is a perfect mirror of the philosophical choice men, women, and children in this world must make.
Pascale Armand’s “Bessie/Wife #3” brings childlike petulance, comic relief, and a light spirit belying her status as a rebel commander’s pregnant sex slave. This brilliant balancing of TONE throughout makes Gurira’s weighty story of 5 women in war torn Liberia an entertaining, thought provoking, heartstring pulling CLASSIC worth repeat viewing. The standing ovation at curtain call was well deserved. #BRAVA!
Culture commentator, Rod Gailes OBC is a writer/director for the stage and screen interested in building artistic fraternity with artists across disciplines. Follow him at:
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