The witty and allegorical dialogue between Pecola, Claudia, and Frieda showcased the realism of Pecola’s internal conflicts. These beauty ideals were ingrained in Pecola’s mind and soul leaving her in a perpetual state of feeling ugly and inadequate.
Through her big brown eyes, she saw herself as a marigold weed, while other girls with sought after snow-white skin were blossoming flowers. Pecola strived to duplicate the blonde-haired, blue-eyed “Shirley Temple” who was so highly adored by her society. This marigold, while seemingly trivial in the beginning scenes, slowly became a physical embodiment of Pecola’s insecurity.
The production was laced with metaphors, and the pinnacle of this symbolism was the constantly present yellow marigold. Scenes depicting rape and abuse could have easily become vulgar and gory, but instead, imagery was used to portray the severity of any particular scene, successfully evoking thoughtful emotion without distracting the audience with flips and tricks. The lighting and sound were used only to enhance the impact of the narrative while advancing the storyline. This visual recreation of “ The Bluest Eye” had a rawness that is rare in a world obsessed with special effects. They struggle to grasp the concept of womanhood, while also grappling with their identities as marginalized black females in an era of segregation. In rural Ohio, sisters Claudia (Carla Duren) and Frieda MacTeer (Deonna Bouye) befriend young Pecola Breedlove (Brittany Bellizeare), and together, the three girls stumble through the end of their childhood years slowly, their innocence and individual perspective is tainted by the American reality of discrimination and abuse. Diamond and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, this stage production creatively portrayed three young black girls weaving their way through the intricacies and repercussions of racial prejudice in the early 1940’s. " complex narrative is faithfully translated to the stage … rich language … supple eloquence.The Guthrie Theater’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s “ The Bluest Eye” was both riveting and meaningful it captured the depth of different experiences of racism without being cliché and predictable. Morrison’s novel … for theatergoers of any age, it is not to be missed." - The New York Sun
"This is bittersweet, moving drama that preserves the vigor and the disquiet of Ms. "This is a powerful coming-of-age story that should be seen by all young girls.". In the afterword to a 1994 edition, she says the book doesn't effectively handle the silence at its center: the void that is Pecola's 'unbeing.' Making up for that silence, Diamond creates new monologues for the child that make clear just how desperate she is for a warm and kind touch … At the same time Diamond, like Morrison, largely avoids cheap sentimentality and keeps intact the novel's rich humor, much of it rooted in children's attempts to decipher adults' confusing coded language." - Chicago Reader "Diamond even addresses the lack that Morrison herself found in the novel. "A spare and haunting play … The playwright displays a delicate touch that seems right for the theme spiraling through the piece: that of the invidious influence of a white-majority nation not yet mature enough to validate beauty in all its forms." - The Washington Post "Diamond's sharp, wrenching, deeply humane adaptation … helps us discover how an innocent like Pecola can be undone so thoroughly by a racist world that, if it sees her at all, does so only long enough to kick the pins out from under her." - Chicago Reader "A must-see production … an altogether superb (and harrowing) world premiere stage adaptation." -Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
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