NewsEclipsed, Drama of Women in African War Zone, Begins West Coast Premiere Run Sept. 13Danai Gurira's Eclipsed, about a sisterhood of women who are caught in the crossfire of civil war in Liberia, gets its West Coast premiere starting Sept. 13 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles.
By
Kenneth Jones
September 13, 2009
Playwright Danai Gurira
Photo by Craig Schwartz
The Center Theatre Group production will open Sept. 20 and continue to Oct. 18.
The cast of Eclipsed includes (in alphabetical order) Edwina Findley, Miriam Glover, Michael Hyatt, Kelly M. Jenrette and Bahni Turpin.
Gurira is the Obie Award-winning actress and writer whose In the Continuum played at the Douglas in 2006. She reunites with Continuum director Robert O'Hara to bring her latest work to Los Angeles audiences. The drama is currently having its world premiere in a separate staging by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC.
Kelly M. Jenrette, Miriam Glover, Michael Hyatt, Bahni Turpin and Edwina Findley
photo by Craig Schwartz
Here's how CTG bills the play: "Eclipsed, a compelling portrait of transformation and renewal, is set in 2003 during Liberia's vicious civil war and follows the lives of a rebel commanding officer's 'wives' as the women form a tightly-knit community and struggle for a degree of humanity in a hostile war zone. Their world is soon affected, however, by the arrival of two newcomers and the unceremonious return of a former 'wife' turned rebel soldier. At once chilling and humanizing, Eclipsed dives deep into the wreckage of war and finds with surprising humor and compassion how each woman navigates, and at times, defies, the most hostile of circumstances in order to survive." (The 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning Ruined by Lynn Nottage also explored women's roles in an African war zone, set in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its long-running Off-Broadway staging, a co-production of Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre, ended Sept. 6.) The Eclipsed creative team includes set designer Sibyl Wickersheimer, costume designer Alex Jaeger, lighting designer Christopher Kuhl, sound designer Adam Phalen and composer Kathryn Bostic. The production stage manager is Amy Bristol Brownewell.
Tickets for Eclipsed are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre or two hours prior to performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office.
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA.
