Toni Morrison’s

The Bluest Eye

adapted by Lydia R. Diamond
directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
McGuire Proscenium Stage

Back by popular demand

A moving adaptation of a powerful novel

Before Beloved and Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison gave us The Bluest Eye

Set in 1940s Ohio, The Bluest Eye is a coming-of-age story about Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl who wants nothing more than to be loved. Confronting turmoil at home, she prays for Shirley Temple’s blue eyes, believing their beauty is the only thing standing between her and the happiness of the white girls at school. By turns beautiful and harrowing, this heartrending adaptation explores the destructive power of racism and the strength of a community attempting to embrace an era of change.

Video

Stage Craft

The Bluest Eye Director Lileana Blain-Cruz gives us an intimate look at her directing philosophy. 

Watch the trailer

Before Beloved and Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison gave us The Bluest Eye.

Deonna Bouye (Frieda), Carla Duren (Claudia), Brittany Bellizeare (Pecola) and Caroline Strang (Maureen). Photo by Dan Norman.  

Carla Duren (Claudia), Regina Marie Williams (Mama), Deonna Bouye (Frieda) and Brittany Bellizeare (Pecola). Photo by Dan Norman.  

Stephanie Berry (Mrs. Breedlove) and J. Bernard Calloway (Cholly). Photo by Dan Norman.

Carla Duren (Claudia), Brittany Bellizeare (Pecola) and Deonna Bouye (Frieda). Photo by Dan Norman.  

In the news

Feature story

‘How to adapt a masterpiece: Playwright takes on Morrison’s Bluest Eye’

Lydia Diamond reveals how she approached Toni Morrison’s novel, letting her characters inform what the play would be. Read the feature in the Pioneer Press

 

Review

‘Guthrie brings Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye from page to stage with poetic power’

Read the Star Tribune review. 

Artists

Cast

Brittany Bellizeare

Pecola

Stephanie Berry

Mrs. Breedlove

Deonna Bouye

Frieda/Darlene

J. Bernard Calloway

Cholly

Carla Duren

Claudia

Shawn Hamilton

Daddy/Soaphead Church

Caroline Strang

Maureen/White Girl

Regina Marie Williams

Mama

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Creative

Lydia R. Diamond

Adapter

Lileana Blain-Cruz

Director

Matt Saunders

Scenic Designer

Montana Blanco

Costume Designer

Yi Zhao

Lighting Designer

Scott W. Edwards

Sound Designer

Justin Hicks

Composer

Jo Holcomb

Dramaturg

Placeholder for Leah Nelson

Leah Nelson

Movement Director

Aaron Preusse

Fight Director

Justin Hossle

Stage Manager

Katie Hawkinson

Assistant Stage Manager

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Know more

Toni Morrison, The Journey of a Legend

Toni Morrison

With a literary biography that includes 11 novels, award-winning nonfiction, a collection of bestselling children’s books, both the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes and a popular film adaption of one of her best-known works, Beloved, it’s nearly an understatement to call Toni Morrison a living legend.

Read more

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