The M Ensemble opened Lydia Diamond's adaptation of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye on June 10, 2010.Based on Toni Morrison’s first novel … "Long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness, the ugliness that made her ignored or despised at school, by teachers and classmates alike." Little Pecola desperately wants to look at the world through blue eyes because people with blue eyes are pretty.John Pryor directed a cast that included Shelly Miller, Janet “Toni” Mason, Keith C. Wade, Yaya Browne, Alexis Snyder, Tihirah Taliaferro, Stacy Rose and Chat Atkins.
Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:
A hybrid that doesn't always live comfortably in the space between literature and drama, Diamond's The Bluest Eye relies too much on fourth wall-shattering speeches directly to the audience, as if the characters were simply reciting passages from the novel. Glorious and evocative as Morrison's prose is, a novel is not a play. But the story blooms -- with tenderness, humor, horror and more -- in those potent moments when Diamond has the characters interact.
On a barren set of multilevel platforms, director John Pryor (whose son Shawn links the many scenes together with an emotionally evocative jazz score) coaxes performances that range from sparkling to inadequate from a cast with widely varying acting skills.The Bluest Eye plays at M Ensemble through June 27, 2010.
We were looking for a Mr. John Pryor who taught Drama at Miami Senior High School - our class was the class of 1971, Can anyone help us locate Mr. Pryor?
ReplyDeleteWe are about to celebrate our 40th High School Reunion.
Thank you,
Lisa Hoffman