“Eclipsed” reviewed by Jeffrey Leibham

Highly Recommended **** The name Danai Gurira may not be familiar to many of you but you certainly might recognize her from several of the appearances that she’s made as an actress. Her television credits include the AMC horror drama series “The Walking Dead” and her films have included “All Eyez on Me” and this year’s blockbusters “The Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” But Gurira, who is an American of Zimbabwean origin and began her career on stage, is also a highly talented playwright. Her 2009 play “Eclipsed,” which made it to Broadway in 2016 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, is receiving a riviting production, under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan, by Pegasus Theatre Chicago.

“Eclipsed” takes place in a rebel army camp during the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. The action plays out on a single-unit, sparsely furnished set, winningly designed by Jacqueline Penrod and lit by Megan Turnquist. Three women occupy a small living area in the camp, all of them prisoners held by a ruthless rebel commander. They have been stripped of everything they once were — completely without an identity — reduced to calling one another by the number representing the order in which they were captured. Wife #1 (Maya V. Prentiss) seems to be the eldest and also the one who has naturally become the protector of the rest, cooking the meals, cleaning the squalid shelter and caring for the pregnant Wife #3 (Aja Singletary). They have been hiding a 14-year-old child, The Girl (Sola Thompson) for a short period of time but it’s not long before she is discovered by the commander and made Wife #4. With their daily activities limited in confinement, they spend most of their free time interacting with one another and their sole purpose is to be available to satisfy the commander’s sexual gratification when they are summoned, based on which “wife” he may happen to be in the mood for that day. As small provisions are delivered, the three bicker over who will get what clothes or small amounts of food. Included in one parcel is a book, which is only of value to Wife #4, as the other two are illiterate. In the evenings, she reads aloud and entertains them with the story from the book, which is a biography of a recent U.S. President. While Wife #2 (Adhana Reid) is merely mentioned in passing, we discover that she has been absent for quite a long time. Eventually, she returns to the camp, but does not stay with the other three. She has been busy fighting as a rebel, recruiting more young women to join the revolutionary cause and training them for combat with firearms. Also making random appearances at the camp is Rita (Morayo Orija), an educated mother working for a global peace organization who is searching for her lost daughter in all of the local camps. As information is exposed in layers, and long-kept and deeply buried secrets are revealed, we finally learn the first names of these strong and resilient women.

Most of Act One consists of just Prentiss, Singletary and Thompson on stage together, and it is very clear that they have developed an extremely tight bond as an ensemble. Prentiss is wonderful as the world-weary and pragmatic Wife #1. She shows glimpses of both deeply embedded sorrow as well as a nurturing spirit, exemplified when she aids Wife #3 in grooming her frizzy wig. Singletary is ebullient as Wife #3, filled with joy and overflowing with hope for her unborn child. She is given the bulk of the script’s comical moments and makes the most of  her humorous portrayal. Thompson turns in a fierce and transformative performance as The Girl, so open and concerted initially but swayed by hatred and self-preservation once she has become #4. It is a chilling performance, galvanic and devastating, illustrating the horror of how quickly innocence and goodness can be subverted and destroyed. Her monologue in Act Two is completely mesmerizing. All three of these fine actresses maintain impeccable accents throughout (Carrie Hardin is the Dialect Coach). If Reid could dig just a little bit deeper her Wife #2 would be truly terrifying. She is certainly threatening and hostile, but adding more of an authoritative and deadly edge to her performance would be a nice contrast to the cascading silver spangle earrings and blood red Harley Davidson shirt she sports (costumes designed by Owe Preye Engobor) as she brandishes her AK-47. Hopefully, Reid will tap into that inner beast as the run of this show progresses.

Incidentally, Gurira’s most recent work “Familiar,” which was commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre, will be receiving its Midwest premiere at Steppenwolf next month. See this production of “Eclipsed” first to discover why Gurira has been called one of the freshest voices in the American theatre today.

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“Eclipsed” runs through November 4, 2018 at Pegasus’ resident home

Chicago Dramatists, 773 North Aberdeen, Chicago, IL

Performances:

Thursdays – 7:30 p.m.

Fridays – 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays – 7:30 PM

Sundays – 3:00 PM

with added Saturday 3:00 PM or/and Sunday 7:00 PM performances (TBD).

Tickets are $18 – $30 and are available at PegasusTheatreChicago.org. Discounts available for groups of ten or more by contacting boxoffice@pegasustheatrechicago.org.

Running time is 2 hours with one intermission

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Eclipsed”.