Eclipsed ****

It’s hard to imagine that the same playwright Danai Gurira wrote both “Familiar” and “Eclipsed.” The former play was an enjoyable comedy of manners with African undercurrents. “Eclipsed “ is a devastating drama about the lives of four Liberian women living in a rebel compound as “wives” of the general. Gurira vividly differentiates her characters and captures their blend of cooperation and competition. Wife #1 (Saycon Sengbloh) was captured as a teenager and has come to accept her life. Wife #3 (Pascale Armand), several years younger, is flighty and pregnant. They unsuccessfully attempt to hide The Girl (Lupita Nyong’o), a teenager who has fled to the compound, to prevent her from becoming Wife #4. It turns out that Wife #2 (Zainab Jah) has become a hardened rebel soldier; armed with a rifle, she will be no man’s victim. Wife #1 is too proud and scornful to accept her assistance when she periodically returns to the compound. Rita (Akosua Busia), part of a visiting delegation of city women trying to end the civil war, takes an interest in the wives. She tries to get them to use their given names so they can reconnect with their past and see a future. Wife #2 recruits The Girl as a soldier. An uncertain future awaits at war’s end. The ensemble acting is exceptional with Nyong’o a standout. Except for a few slow moments in the first act, the play is consistently gripping. The set and costumes by Clint Ramos are evocative. Liesl Tommy’s direction is assured. Running time: 2 1/2 hours including intermission.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner **

In this stage adaptation of Alan Sillitoe's 1959 story about class in England, now at Atlantic Stage 2, playwright Roy Williams has moved the action to the present and changed the race of the protagonist to black to add an additional level of conflict. This transposition might have worked better if it had been more fully developed. Sheldon Best plays the title character Colin with more stamina than clarity of motivation. The flashbacks that punctuate the play, showing him in short scenes with his parents, best friend, girl and fellow residents of the juvenile facility seemed scatter-shot and did not have cumulative impact. There are several scenes between Colin and Stevens, the social worker who urges him to run in a race against a local private school. Granted that Stevens is supposed to be smarmy, in his portrayal by Todd Weeks he comes across as little more than a buffoon given to bombastic declamation. A general lack of nuance hurts the production. In the strong supporting cast, Zainab Jah, Joshua E. Nelson and Jasmine Cephas Jones stood out. The spare set by Lauren Helpern and projections by Pauline Lu and Paul Piekarz are effective, as are the costumes by Bobby Frederick Tilley II. Leah C. Gardiner directed.  I really wanted to like the play, but even at 80 minutes felt it dragged.