Review Roundup: LUNAR ECLIPSE at Second Stage Theater

Second Stage Theater is concluding its 46th Season with the New York Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies’ LUNAR ECLIPSE, directed by Drama League Award winner Kate Whoriskey. The production stars Tony Award-winner Reed Birney and Drama Desk Award Nominee Lisa Emery.
 
 Maybe forgetting yourself once in a while is a good thing. From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies (Dinner with Friends, Collected Stories) comes a stirring new play about the fragility of memory and the passage of time.
 
Late on a summer night, in a field on their Kentucky farm, a long-married couple, George (Birney) and Em (Emery), have come to watch a lunar eclipse. As the seven stages of the celestial phenomenon unfold, the two sip bourbon and reflect on land and legacy, children and dogs.  But as more and more is revealed, they realize they are as much a mystery to each other as the heavens above.  LUNAR ECLIPSE is the funny, moving, universal story of a couple reckoning with the time they’ve spent on earth and the time they have left. See what the critics are saying here...

Caroline Cao, New York Theatre Guide: Although Birney and Emery plant the heart and humor of Lunar Eclipse, Margulies struggles to craft a momentum of highs and lows as the couple unravel their regrets. In particular, dour introspections, such as George admitting he cares for his dogs more than his late adopted son or Emery sacrificing her city upbringing for married life on the farm, feel smoothed over.

Ron Fassler, Theater Pizzazz: There are no earth-shaking revelations or forced “aha!” moments for the couple. They know each other too well for that. What makes it interesting is its tautness over a ninety-minute playing time that offers a connection with these two good folks in a meaningful way that transcends their daily, ordinary existences.

Tulis McCall, Front Row Center: I wish there had been more “there” there, because these two actors are clearly up to the bit. I am sure of thief because as mild mannered as the text was, Birney and Emery made us believe that these two were the real deal. As performers and characters their bond is mighty. And that, my friends, is pretty much the whole deal.

Brian Scott Lipton, Cititour: Despite the unmatched skill of Birney and Emery, who both infuse Margulies’ words and his silences with layers of meaning, the ultimately too-slight “Lunar Eclipse” feels as inconsequential as its titular subject. Just as George is disappointed that the clouds muted his chance to the view the eclipse’s colorful “Japanese Lantern” effect, audiences may leave the theater feeling that the play was also a missed opportunity for something more spectacular.

Frank Scheck, New York Stage Review: Neither the play’s characterizations nor dialogue achieve the complexity of Margulies’ best works, and it all feels a little too neat in its set-up. But despite its schematic elements, Lunar Eclipse proves poignantly moving nonetheless thanks to its dramatic restraint and Kate Whoriskey’s pitch-perfect direction. Birney and Emery, who have long graced our stages, deliver impeccable work, never hitting a wrong emotional note and making us fully empathize with their characters — especially in a heartbreaking coda that depicts them at a very early stage in their relationship, getting together in the same field to witness a blood moon. Their superb work is abetted by the wonderful design elements including Grace McLean’s affecting music, Walt Spangler’s evocative set design, and Amith Chandrashaker’s lighting that gorgeously conveys every stage of that lunar eclipse.

Roma Torre, New York Stage Review: At its best, the production, incisively directed by Kate Whoriskey, is a moving and sometimes humorous portrait of two aging midwesterners staring their mortality in the face and re-assessing their lives together. Both have deep regrets and the more we learn about them, the more we can identify with their loss and introspection.

Average Rating: 71.7%