AceShowbiz -

"Eclipsed", a new off-Broadway play starring Lupita Nyong'o, will move uptown next year. It was announced on Tuesday, October 20 that the production will begin previews at the Golden Theater on February 23 following its extended runs at the Public Theater.

Opening on October 14, "Eclipse" was given a warm welcome for its touching story and heartfelt portrayal from its cast. Nyong'o plays one of the "wives" of a rebel commander who lives in the early 21st century of a war-torn Liberia.

The play is written by Danai Gurira who is more known to fans as Michonne on AMC's "The Walking Dead". It will be one of the rare plays written by a woman to get a Broadway production. This season, "Therese Raquin" by British playwright Helen Edmundson is the only announced play by a woman.

"Broadway will be better for having ‘Eclipsed’ on it, and I hope it will break a barrier that will stay broken, if it proves that shows like this can make it on Broadway," said the Public's artistic director, Oskar Eustis, in a statement. "It's an incredibly emotional play, and by the end very deeply touching and harrowing, and yet Danai has written it so beautifully it ultimately feels life-affirming, about how women in horrible circumstances are able to find their own agency."

"Eclipsed" is directed by Liesl Tommy. Producer Stephen Byrd said Nyong'o turned down three film opportunities to commit herself to doing the play. The Broadway production is expected to run for 17 weeks and ends in November.