Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the legendary storyteller and Nobel prize-winning author.
Most wrenching, perhaps, is a scene in which Pecola’s cruel, inhumane mother tenderly comforts the daughter of the rich white family she works for, picking up the blond, blue-eyed child and lovingly hugging her in a manner that shocks the unbelieving Pecola and the audience as well.Location: Strand Theatre, 921 Main St. Play contains several stunning moments, including a scene in which the father - as a teenager - is forced to have sex by a couple of white men with guns. Assault is extremely powerful, though artfully staged with no physical activity.
Not for younger teens, though one girl, who looked to be about 14, was physically cowering during the rape scene and clutching her mother. While devised for young adults, play is perfectly suitable for older audiences. This “Bluest Eye” troupe is mighty impressive and most welcome. Worth noting is the especially high caliber of the creators and cast, all of whom seem to be Chi-based with virtually no New York experience. Stephanie Nelson’s set features a red picturebook house straight out of “Dick and Jane.” (Pecola periodically reads from the book, which told of perfect children in a perfect world.) The three designers work especially well with Gordon, allowing everything to flow nicely through its 90 minutes. Steppenwolf remounted it last month, with most of the original cast and the addition of a more fully realized physical production. Though highly acclaimed, the limited run was mostly pre-sold to high school students and thus not widely viewed. “The Bluest Eye” was first produced in 2005 by the Steppenwolf for Young Adults program. (Morrison even manages to make the brutal father a human and pitiable character.) A Chicago playwright commissioned by Steppenwolf to write the adaptation, Diamond captures the flavor of Morrison’s storytelling while retaining many of the big scenes.ĭirector Hallie Gordon deserves equal credit play is so well assembled, and so well staged, that the three creators - Morrison, Diamond and Gordon - seem always to be on the same page. This chore was a difficult one, as the novel is short on action the plot is disclosed in the first pages, with Morrison concentrating thereafter not on what but why. Adapter Lydia Diamond has necessarily reworked the material to suit the stage, but she retains the essence of the original. Morrison’s amazing imagery is evident throughout.
James Vincent Meredith is especially good as the conjurer Soaphead Church. The entire eight-person cast is very much in gear, with everyone (other than Arenas and Pugh) doing seamless doubling. If Arenas is heartbreaking as the shy and awkward Pecola, Pugh is the center of the play, delivering Morrison’s message in a convincing and uncompromising manner.
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Claudia’s is a strong and knowing voice she even explains how she took her Shirley Temple doll and dismembered it: “If I could rip it apart, maybe I’d understand what the world thought was so wonderful about pink skin and yellow hair.” This all plays out in story theater fashion, with Claudia (Libya V. The pregnant Pecola ultimately loses her baby, by which time she has crossed the line into madness, fixating on a mirror that displays what she believes to be her magically altered “truly bluely eyes.” Trouble comes when Pecola starts “ministratin’.” Once she has returned home, her abusive and alcoholic father rapes her, followed by a beating from her mother.
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