Play Adaption of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye to Coincide With Black History Month Celebrations at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts-2010 Marks the 40th Anniversary of the Bool's Publication

La Mirada~How does an 11 year old African-American girl define beauty when she hates the color of her skin and has only blonde-hair, blue-eyed dolls to play with? Set against the backdrop of 1940s Ohio, The Bluest Eye explores the toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, a family, and Pecola Breedlove, the central character in this play adaptation based on the novel by Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison. The production, directed by 2009 Lucille Lortel Award Nominee Janet Miller (Off-Broadway, Marvlelous Wonderettes) will be presented by Phantom Projects Theatre Group on February 25, 2010 at 10AM and 7PM at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Phantom Projects is a proud member of the LA Stage Alliance.

The production features Sola Bamis, Tiffany Danielle, Willie Mack Daniels, Ashley Dyke, Shamika Franklin, Kwesiu Jones, Johnnett Kent, and Tekquiree Spencer.

The novel, The Bluest Eye, was first published in 1970. In the book, whiteness is looked at as beauty, a beauty that black girls cannot meet. Pecola connects beauty with being loved and believes that if she would just have blue eyes, all bad things in her life would be replaced. The book has had its share of controversy, however, being banned from many schools throughout the country.

However, in 2005, Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago commissioned Lydia R. Diamond to adapt the novel into a full-length stage production for the Steppenwolf for Young Adults Productions. The stage version, which focused more on the perception of beauty, love, and racism aspects and less on the controversial elements, premiered off-Broadway in 2006 at the New Victory Theatre.

Tickets to The Bluest Eye are available by calling 714-994-6310 or 562-944-9801 or going online to lamiradatheatre.com or phantomprojects.com. Tickets prices for the 10 a.m. performance are $6, and for the 7 p.m. performance, $6 for middle school students, $12 for high school students, and $20 for adults.

 
For additional information call 714-690-2900, go online to www.PhantomProjects.com, or visit Facebook.com/PhantomProjects