What is your name? What is the name your mother gave you? There is a scene in the movie, “Get on the Good Foot,” in which our hero repeats his name over and over: “My name is James Brown.” This repetition empowered him to become the Godfather of Soul. The only thing Tina Turner fought for throughout a long, nasty divorce from Ike was her name: “I want my name.” (See the movie, “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”) The R&B groups Intruders and Whispers both soulfully sang a song called “I Want To Know Your Name.” Won’t you please tell me your name?
What is your name? That question is the theme throughout the new Broadway play, “Eclipsed,” written by Danai Gurira, directed by Liesl Tommy and playing at the John Golden Theatre. The all-female cast features Lupita Nyong’o, Pascale Armad, Akosua Busia, Zainab Jah, Saycon Sengbloh, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Ayesha Jordan and Adeola Role. (Only five actors performed. The others are understudies.)
The setting is Liberia during the country’s second civil war, in which rebels are fighting to overthrow the dictatorship of Charles Taylor. During the first act, the audience only knows the characters by their rank according to the rebel camp commander’s preference. No. 1 is the eldest “wife.” No. 2 is the renegade. No. 3 is pregnant with the commander’s baby. No. 4, skillfully played by Nyong’o, is the young orphaned girl who once had parents who taught her to read and encouraged her to dream big dreams.
No. 2 has run off to become a fighter, leaving No. 1 and No. 3 behind in the barren hut, where No. 4 has now joined them. Together, they sleep on the floor, eat only cassava and stand at attention whenever the commander comes to summon one of them to his chamber. The audience never sees the commander, but his presence is immediately felt as the women suddenly stop whatever they are doing and hold their breath, shaken with fear and humiliation as they submit to the commander’s call.
The fifth actor to appear on stage is the peace missionary. She has no number because she is not a concubine of the commander, but is ironically feared by him. Perhaps it is because she knows her name. Interestingly, her name is never reveled to the audience, yet it is she who works relentlessly to get the others to speak their names aloud. The process each character goes through in saying her name revels a lot about their inner struggle with who they are, what concerns them most and what they stand for.
No. 2 chooses to forget her name, and all of the sentimental, emotional trappings that go along with it. She is a soldier, a rebel. The audience must watch closely to catch moments of what a loving girl No. 2 once was. No. 4 was once proud to say her name, but through the ravages of war and the choices she makes, as hard as she tries, she can’t remember her name. This play offers a true version of the lives Liberian women have had to endure for many years, through civil war and ongoing oppression. It opens a window for the rest of the world to see the struggles many women throughout Africa, throughout the world, have had to either overcome or succumb to. Through the lithe and musical tones of the African dialogue, which is ever so pleasing to the ear, even the privileged among us can relate in some form or fashion to each of the characters, understanding how and why they make the choices that they do. I strongly suggest organizing a theatre party to see “Eclipsed,” which opens March 6.
Touched deeply by this play, I would love to tell you more, but alas, I will not spoil the scenes or the ending. You absolutely must go and see this play for yourself. The acting is superb, the storyline is riveting and the message is thought provokingly unforgettable.
Lead producer for “Eclipsed” is Stephen Byrd, founder of Front Row Productions. Byrd, also known as the “official source for Broadway” and a pioneering producer, has a list of credits that are quite impressive. He and his producing partner, Alia M. Jones-Harvey, have done a phenomenal job of taking risks and breaking Broadway barriers. Among their successes are the first African-American Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which became the highest grossing play on Broadway for that season, the multiracial production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “The Trip to Bountiful,” starring legendary Cicely Tyson, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards. Other plays include “Romeo and Juliet,” starring Orlando Bloom, with a multiracial cast. I am looking forward to Front Row’s production of “Black Orpheus,” which is currently in development.
The film “Black Orpheus,” which starred Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello, was released in December, 1959. It is the story of young lovers Orfeu and Eurdice, who meet as the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil prepares for Carnival. With the wistful sounds of the samba as background music, the lovers experience both passion and pain as Eurdice flees from her demons and Orfeu tries to escape the jealous and vengeful clutches of his fiancée Mira.
“Black Orpheus” is another powerful, romantic yet sad tale, and I can hardly wait to see how the tale will once again be told under the artful production of Byrd and Jones-Harvey.
I was disappointed that during Black History Month the only Black film I saw was, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” with Sidney Poitier, which I hadn’t seen before, and “Jackie Brown.” I am with Spike Lee in that Pam Grier is my favorite actress of the 70s, but how many times can you see “Jackie Brown?” Actually, a lot because you always see something the second time that you haven’t seen before, but the point I am trying to make is that there are so many Black films that have had a profound effect on people, the industry and society. Why not show the full spectrum?
Until next week … kisses.