At Saturday’s performance of Broadway’s Tony-nominated Eclipsed, ONE and (RED) cofounder Bono joined Lupita Nyong’o and the rest of the cast on stage to dedicate the performance to two of the abducted and still missing schoolgirls from Chibok, Northern Nigeria. From today on out, every performance of Eclipsed will end with a moment in which some of the girls who are still missing are called out by name and the performance will be dedicated to them. The dedication initiative was conceived of by Danai Gurira, Eclipsed’s playwright, star of The Walking Dead, and ONE Campaign Ambassador and Emmanuel Ogebe. Emmanuel’s organization, Education Must Continue Initiative (EMCI), rehabilitates children victimized by terrorism by providing them safe haven, medical treatment, counseling and a return to their education.
Bono and the cast of “Eclipsed” on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Photo credit: Timmy Blupe)
Gurira has been working hand in hand with ONE on our Poverty is Sexist campaign and ONE will be working alongside Gurira on this new dedication series to drive attention and action in support of the fight to #BringBackOurGirls. The series will also bring attention to the many other challenges faced by hundreds of millions of girls all over the world who are living in poverty and denied their rights simply because they are girls.
In brief comments with Nyong’o, Bono dedicated the performance to Lydia Habila and Rejoice Musa—two of the girls abducted from the Chibok School by the Boko Haram in April 2014, an international tragedy that spawned the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Kabila and Musa, along with 219 other schoolgirls kidnapped from the school, are still missing.
Set in Liberia, Eclipsed comes to Broadway on the heels of its sold-out, critically acclaimed production at The Public Theater last fall. The show is the story of five extraordinary women brought together by upheaval in their homeland of Liberia. They forge a close-knit community… one that inspires them to feats of increasingly greater strength. Eclipsed marks the first production in Broadway history to feature an all-female cast, playwright, and director.
