'Lunar Eclipse' Off-Broadway review — Reed Birney and Lisa Emery lead a marriage story under the stars
Read our review of Lunar Eclipse off Broadway, a new drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies starring Reed Birney and Lisa Emery.
A cosmic lunar eclipse is a catalyst for conversations. It happens for an elderly Kentucky couple, George (Reed Birney) and Em (Lisa Emery), in Pulitzer Prize winner playwright Donald Margulies’s two-hander play Lunar Eclipse off Broadway.
One clunky topical platitude crops up when George vents about climate change and political inaction outliving him and his wife. Otherwise, the rest of the territory in Lunar Eclipse, under no-fuss direction by Kate Whoriskey, blooms through banter about loss, memory, parenthood, and the afterlife. The robust, confident George wears a masculine front that masks his vulnerabilities, while the patient Em can pluck out confessions with a teasing charm.
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.
Buoying Lunar Eclipse as a production is Walt Spangler’s dreamy, grassy scenic design and S. Katy Tucker’s video design, bathing the backdrop in impressionistic brushstroke watercolors of clouds and stars, accompanying the dense nocturnal cicadas and bird sound effects. Lunar Eclipse isn’t about satisfaction or catharsis as much as aging, what your spouse may have sacrificed for your union, and the ache of what you might have missed.
Lunar Eclipse summary
Sequestered on their Kentucky farm in the middle of nowhere, an elderly couple sit on fold-out lawn chairs to observe a lunar eclipse together. Over bottles of bourbon, they chat about their marriage, the fleeting nature of memory, the several dogs they buried, their deceased adopted son, aging friends, and their future. As the moon enters and exits, their reflection on their history makes them wonder how to look forward to their future.
What to expect at Lunar Eclipse
Lunar Eclipse runs briskly at 85 minutes with no intermission. The play glows with a gorgeous backdrop, blazing with watercolored brushstrokes that darken with each eclipse stage, signaled by projected text. The atmosphere is dense with the sounds of cicadas, bird caws, and frog croaks, underscoring the tougher conversations between husband and wife. The environment feels intimately lived in, encasing the couple in the elegance of nature.
What audiences are saying about Lunar Eclipse
As of writing, Lunar Eclipse accumulated a 77% audience approval score on Show-Score based on 55 ratings from theatregoers.
- "Not lots of poignancy or humor but lovely performances by the two veteran actors." - Show-Score user TheaterBuff
- “I left the show feeling like I've merely made acquaintances with George and Em.” - Show-Score user Crup_Crup
- Show-Score user JoeyFranko called the play a “sweet show that could be plucked directly from just about any field of eclipse watching.”
- “I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really simple, not in a bad way.” -A friend who saw the show
Read more audience reviews of Lunar Eclipse on Show-Score.
Who should see Lunar Eclipse
- Audiences who appreciate meditations on marriage and love will like Lunar Eclipse, ideal for a couple’s night out.
- Fans of the two actors will drink in the rapport between acting veterans Lisa Emery and Reed Birney.
- Lunar Eclipse is resplendent with painterly scenery for those with artistic sensibilities, and every scenic transition rejuvenates the show.
- Readers of Donald Margulies’s plays, like Time Stands Still or the Pulitzer-winning Dinner with Friends, might like to check out his latest work.
Learn more about Lunar Eclipse off Broadway
Lunar Eclipse sows more than it can reap, lacking momentum in its plot reveals, but it stays afloat thanks to the intimate pastoral scenery that surrounds Reed Birney and Lisa Emery.
Photo credit: Lunar Eclipse off Broadway. (Photos by Joan Marcus)
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