Huntington Theatre Company Announces Creative Team For THE BLUEST EYE

Huntington Theatre Company announces the award-winning creative team of Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lydia R. Diamond's (Stick Fly on Broadway and the Huntington, Smart People at the Huntington) stage adaptation of Toni Morrison's first novel The Bluest Eye. Ms. Diamond's stage adaptation of this profound piece of American literature by the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author will be directed by one of American Theatre's "Theatre Workers You Should Know," Awoye Timpo (In Old Age at New York Theatre Workshop, Good Grief at the Vineyard Theatre). The Bluest Eye begins performances at the Huntington Avenue Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston) Friday, April 24, 2020 and runs through Sunday, May 24, 2020.

The creative team for The Bluest Eye includes set design by Emmy Award winner Jason Ardizzone-West ("Jesus Christ Superstar - Live" on NBC, "Adele: Live in NYC" on NBC; Blue Man Group: Speechless National Tour), costume design by Lortel Award winner Dede Ayite (A Soldier's Play, Slave Play, and American Son on Broadway), lighting design by Adam Honoré (Skeleton Crew at the Huntington, Ain't No Mo' at The Public Theater, Carmen Jones at Classic Stage Company), and sound design and composition by Grammy Award winner Justin Ellington (recording artists Usher, Nicki Minaj, Andre 3000; Other Desert Cities on Broadway, Pass Over at Lincoln Center Theater). The production stage manager is Emily F. McMullen and the stage manager is Jamie Carty.

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of celebrated author Toni Morrison's acclaimed debut novel, The Bluest Eye. Brought to life as a tremendously moving theatrical event by Boston favorite Lydia R. Diamond (Stick Fly, Smart People), The Bluest Eye tells the story of Pecola, a young black girl who believes everything in her world would be made wonderful if only she had blue eyes. Enthralling and incredibly emotional, The Bluest Eye asks powerful questions concerning racism, beauty, and identity with grace and subtlety. A novel that has touched generations of young women, The Bluest Eye has shaped the conversation of colorism and beauty in our world. Recently featured in an article in The New Yorker commemorating the 50th anniversary of the novel, Hilton Als described The Bluest Eye as "intellectually expansive, emotionally questioning, and spiritually knowing," where "the act of looking-and seeing-is described again and again."

Oprah Winfrey has frequently given reverence to Toni Morrison and The Bluest Eye, calling the novel "one of my all-time favorites," and featuring it as one of her book club selections. "The message in The Bluest Eye is so universal that I really believe we all could learn from it, no matter who you are or where you come from," said Winfrey.

Toni Morrison's recent death in 2019 has spurned an outpouring of remembrance and homage from artists and leaders all over the world. "I had the privilege of adapting Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye for the stage," says playwright Lydia R. Diamond. "When I was commissioned in 2005 by the Steppenwolf to do it, and Ms. Morrison had given them her blessing to let it be me, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and have never wanted so desperately to get something right. Ms. Morrison's words have healed and challenged and validated and poked and prodded and demanded the most of humanity. Ms. Morrison said to a generation, and then another generation of black girls, that they matter, that they deserve to be seen, and loved, and protected, and celebrated. We are all the better for her."

"Toni Morrison is one of our greatest writers of all time. And Lydia Diamond is one of our great playwrights. So, between the two of them they know how to tell a story that takes you on an incredible journey," said Awoye Timpo, director of the Huntington production of The Bluest Eye. "People can come and expect to see a really extraordinary portrait of a community that resonates deeply with the world that we live in today."

Tickets

Single tickets starting at $25 and FlexPasses are on sale:

• online at huntingtontheatre.org;
• by phone at 617 266 0800; or
• in person at the Huntington Avenue Theatre Box Office, 264 Huntington Ave. and the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA Box Office, 527 Tremont St. in Boston's South End.

Select discounts apply:

• $10 off: subscribers
• $30 "35 Below" tickets for patrons 35 years old and younger (valid ID required)
• $20 student and military tickets (valid ID required)

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