Danai Gurira’s play Eclipsed is set in Liberia in 2003. It tells the story of five women who have been kidnapped and made into sex slaves by rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). The women are held in a one-room shack. Among them is a 15-year-old referred to as The Girl. The Girl is portrayed by Lupita Nyong’o who is nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.
Lupita Nyong’o is known for her roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Maz Kanata), the action thriller Non-Stop with Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, 12 Years a Slave (Patsey, the role for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), and in the MTV mini-series Shuga (Ayira). Nyong’o will appear next on the big screen in Queen of Katwe in Fall 2016 and in Star Wars: Episode VIII (directed by Rian Johnson) in December 2017. Eclipsed has been nominated for 6 Tony Awards including Best Play. The Tony Awards will be televised on June 12 at 8pm on CBS.
