In the opening moments of Donald Margulies’ new play, we see a character in the shadows, sobbing profusely. That turns out to be the most dramatic moment in Lunar Eclipse, which depicts an evening-long conversation between a long-married couple as they watch the titular event. It might sound like the recipe for a listless evening in the theater, but when those two characters are played by Reed Birney and Lisa Emery it’s anything but.
This new work from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Dinner with Friends, Collected Stories, and Sight Unseen, among many others, is dedicated to his father-in-law, a farmer, whom he describes as “beloved.” It’s clearly a labor of love in its depiction of Kentucky farmer George (Birney) and Em (Emery), who spend a long night in a field on their western Kentucky farm watching the eclipse. George is more excited about it than Em, who only joins him after he’s already settled into his folding chair armed with a bottle of bourbon.
As George describes the eclipse’s various stages to his wife — text projections, including such notifications as “Moon enters umbra,” keep us informed as well — the couple inevitably begin to reminisce about their lifetime together. George is the taciturn type, reluctant to discuss his feelings even when talking about their troubled adopted son who died of a drug overdose. He expresses more sorrow for the loss of the many dogs they had over the years, who are buried in the very field they’re sitting in.
[Read Roma Torre’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Em is more in touch with her emotions, which become more freely expressed when she finally agrees to join George in the bourbon that he’s freely downing. When she confesses to him that she feels sad all the time, George offers the sort of comfort of which he’s capable.
“Anything I can do to help,” he says.
“Thank you, that’s kind of you to say,” Em replies.
“I’m not being kind, I’m your husband,” George explains.
The eclipse turns out to be a disappointment, failing to unveil the “Japanese Lantern Effect” that George was hoping to see. It also serves as a handy metaphor for the couple’s relationship that has persevered despite many setbacks along the way. And although George professes to know that they will both live for at least two more decades, he’s haunted by the realization that he’s beginning to suffer the effects of dementia.
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.
Lunar Eclipse opened June 3, 2025 at Signature Center and runs through June 22. Tickets and information: 2st.com
