The Bluest Eye at The Black Rep
Toni Morrison's debut novel, The Bluest Eye, was written nearly 40 years ago, but for her three young African American protagonists, the American obsession with blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty was just as prevalent as it is now. This month, the Providence Black Repertory Company presents a staged adaptation of Morrison's book by Boston-based playwright Lydia Diamond. Translating the work of a literary master like Morrison to any other format seems daunting, but Diamond's play does an admirable job of conveying the poetry and pathos of the original. The Bluest Eye takes a look at the dark side of the American Dream, through the eyes of the people left outside it. And from that vantage point, it's a nightmare.
In the play, Frieda, Claudia, and Pecola are young black girls growing up the hard way in a Midwestern town that values appearance over substance. As sisters, Frieda and Claudia are natural born allies in the struggle, with some support from their loving, if stern, parents. But Pecola is alone: ridiculed for her looks at school, neglected and abused by her parents at home, isolated by her shyness and shame. Pecola dreams of her eyes turning blue, hoping that will change everything for the better. With eyes like Shirley Temple, she reasons, the world will treat her differently. The Bluest Eye is not without humor or moments of levity, but Pecola's story is ultimately a tragedy, and it raises resonating questions of culpability. The America that the girls struggle to conform to and comprehend has not changed as much as we might hope.
The Black Rep is the first black theatre to perform the play, which was commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago a few years ago. The Black Rep strives to examine American narratives and mythologies through theatre, and The Bluest Eye provides plenty of fodder. In one of the play's more striking scenes, young Claudia explains her desire to dismember the blue-eyed baby dolls she's given for Christmas. Director Don Mays, who has a lot of experience working with young adults of color, has observed disturbing trends toward that blue-eyed, blond baby doll model. He cites blond extensions, straightened hair, and colored contacts as evidence.
You can't afford to miss The Bluest Eye, and with "Pay-What-You-Can Sunday" matinees, you really can afford it! As Mays attests, "This will not be a play to sit back and let it pass by you. It will definitely go through you."
The Bluest Eye
February 2 - March 9
Providence Black Repertory Company
276 Westminster Street, Providence
401-351-0353
www.blackrep.org
