He begins seated, speaking in a calm, polite tone, but his performance intensifies until he is on his feet, howling about performing a miracle that God could not.Ĭoats embraces this eccentricity and madness, aided by a costume that exquisitely mirrors his character’s personality. In his most striking scene, Church writes a letter to God, claiming his superiority after leading Pecola to believe that her eyes had turned blue. Coats steps into the role of the peculiar “Reader, Advisor, Interpreter of Dreams” Soaphead Church with the same ease. Every move in the fight with her husband Cholly (Greg Alverez Reid) is calculated and beautifully choreographed.īrian D. When she sings, her voice pierces the hearts of all who listen.įrye acts with great attention to physical detail: she limps slightly as she walks, on account of Mrs.

When recounting the racism she faced giving birth to her daughter Pecola (Hadar Busia-Singleton), her voice crescendos into a moan that reverberates around the walls of the theater. Breedlove’s deep anguish and frustration. Frye wholeheartedly commits to her character, masterfully conveying Mrs. Breedlove is one of the most complicated characters in Morrison’s tale. Haunted and left hopeless by her inability to fit racialized beauty standards, Mrs. But two cast members stand out with their breathtaking performances: McKenzie Frye as Mrs. The cast of eight accomplishes the unimaginable by taking on multiple roles in Morrison’s complex world, seamlessly transitioning from one to the next. When actors take the stage, audiences are immediately pulled in by stunning, pain-filled performances that would do the late Toni Morrison proud. But the tree is grey and cracked through the center, suggesting from the start that something is wrong. The design of the stage mimics a cross-section of a tree trunk, reinforcing the deep roots of storytelling circles and evoking the image of a family tree, which is fitting for a play that explores household dynamics. Seats are arranged in a circle around the small stage, inspired by the storytelling circles of Black rituals.

Being able to produce a faithful stage adaptation of Toni Morrison’s debut novel feels monumental in its significance - and yet, the production feels incredibly intimate. The voices of iconic Black artists like Beyoncé, Jill Scott, and Janelle Monáe reverberating through the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts make it clear that “The Bluest Eye” will be no ordinary theatrical experience.

Lydia diamond plays