ECLIPSED: THE SUN, THE MOON AND GLADYS ATKINSON SWEET Comes to Theatre NOVA

Theatre NOVA will present the World Premiere of "ECLIPSED: The Sun, the Moon and Gladys Atkinson Sweet" by D.L. Patrick, a play documenting the all-too-real 1925 case of an African American married couple and their friends charged with first-degree murder following the attack on the Sweet's Detroit home by over 700 white neighbors. 

 

On the night of September 9, 1925, Gladys Atkinson Sweet was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, along with her husband, Dr. Ossian Sweet, his two brothers and seven other African Americans following the attack on her home. They were well-educated, well-respected, talented people who would have been assets to any community.

Although much has been written about Dr. Sweet and the two Sweet trials, litigated by Clarence Darrow, this play imagines the perspective of Gladys Sweet and the women who populated her life. It is about what women do, and have always done, in the shadows.

 

“We are thrilled to introduce audiences to DL Patrick's “Eclipsed,” says Theatre NOVA Founding Artistic Director, Carla Milarch.  “As a company committed to championing new works and Michigan playwrights, we are honored to bring this world premiere to the stage. Patrick's storytelling is both urgent and poetic, and under Bryana Hall's direction, this production will be nothing short of extraordinary.”

 

Playwright, D.L. Patrick adds, "Years of research, writing, and workshopping have finally resulted in an experience that I think audiences will find both moving and edifying. I hope they will take away the idea that when we see people as individuals and not faceless groups -- when we know and value them for who they really are -- then we all gain, and the world is a better place."

 

Director Bryana Hall underscores the play's contemporary relevance, stating, “This play is a cautionary tale about the real human consequences of otherizing our neighbors. We look at this story as if what happened at the Sweet house 100 years ago is ancient history, but shades of that history persist today, and it's important for us as theatre makers to honor that.”

 

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