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Hartford Stage Presents Adaptation of Toni Morrison's Classic The Bluest Eye

Lydia Diamond's Compelling Drama Presented in Partnership with New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre

February 8, 2008/Hartford, CT . . . Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison's heart-wrenching masterpiece The Bluest Eye will captivate audiences at two Connecticut theatres this season. The haunting and tragic portrait of a black girl's coming of age in the racially turbulent 1940s has been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Lydia Diamond. Performances of this American classic begin at Hartford Stage February 21 and continue through March 23, when it will move to New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre for a March 28 - April 20 run. Long Wharf's Associate Artistic Director, Eric Ting, directs the play, which is a co-production of the two Tony Award-winning theatres.

In the play, Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be beautiful, people will love her, and her world will be forever changed. Principal Production Sponsor for The Bluest Eye is United Technologies. Production Sponsor is Bank of America, and Assisting Production Sponsor is Robinson & Cole, LLP. Additional support is provided by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

The company of The Bluest Eye features many actors making their Hartford Stage debuts, along with some familiar faces. Miche Braden returns to Hartford Stage in the roles of "Mama" and "Woman." She previously appeared at Hartford Stage in Mahalia - A Gospel Musical and The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (Connecticut Critics Award nomination). She has worked as a performer and Musical Director for such shows as Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Hot Snow, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom; HATS: The Red Hat Society Musical, and The People's Temple. Also returning to Hartford Stage is Oni Faida Lampley in the roles of "Mrs. Breedlove" and "Woman." She was previously seen in False Admissions. Broadway credits include Mule Bone, Two Trains Running, and The Ride Down Mount Morgan. Other cast members are all making their Hartford Stage debuts. Bobbi Baker plays "Claudia." She was recently seen in the NY Fringe Festival: in Mother Divine. Leon Addison Brown plays "Cholly." He was seen by Hartford audiences in TheaterWorks' production of The Exonerated. His Broadway credits include On The Waterfront, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, and Prelude To A Kiss. Ellis Foster plays "Soaphead Church" and "Daddy." He has numerous Regional credits and is well-known to Chicago theatre audiences, have received several "Jeff" awards for his memorable performances. Adepero Oduye is playing "Pecola." Her theatre credits include Count Down and Bill T. Jones' Fela Kuti Project. She is a one-time Manhattan Monologue Slam Champion. Ronica V. Reddick plays "Frieda" and "Darlene." She most recently appeared as "Christmas Present" in the McCarter Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. Shelley Thomas is playing the roles of "Maureen Pearl," "White Girl," and "Woman." She has been seen on Broadway in Brooklyn, The Musical, Off-Broadway in Zanna, Don't!, and in the world premiere of The Woman of Brewster Place at the Alliance Theatre and Arena Stage.

The Bluest Eye is adapted from Toni Morrison's novel by playwright Lydia Diamond. The play had its world premiere at Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, where it won the Black Arts Alliance Image Award for Best New Play. It has subsequently played at New Vic, Theatre Alliance, Plowshares, Playmakers Repertory, Horizon Theatre Company, Freedom Theatre, Providence Black Repertory, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and Company One. Ms. Diamond's other plays include The Gift Horse, Voyeurs de Venus, Stick Fly, Harriet Jacobs, Stage Black, and The Inside. She is currently working on commissions for the McCarter Theatre and Huntington Theatre Company. Diamond holds a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, is a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists, a Huntington Playwright Fellow, an '07/'08 TCG/NEA playwright in residence at Steppenwolf, and is on faculty at Boston University.

The Bluest Eye is directed by Long Wharf Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Eric Ting, whose directing credits include Underneath the Lintel at Long Wharf, which received the 2006 Connecticut Critics Circle awards for Best Director and Best Production of a Play and The Little Prince at Round House Theatre. He is co-founder of Company Ajar, a provocative physical theatre mingling puppetry, mask, and music with original and found text. Ting's work has been presented internationally, including France, Canada, Romania , the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Bali. He has assisted such esteemed directors as Bartlett Sher, Liviu Ciulei, Lou Bellamy, Carey Perloff, Gordon Edelstein, and Loy Arcenas. Ting is the recipient of a 2004-2006 TCG New Generations Future Leaders fellowship

The Bluest Eye is produced in collaboration with Long Wharf Theatre, which is led by Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director and Joan Channick, Managing Director. More than 30 Long Wharf productions have transferred to Broadway or Off-Broadway, some of which include last season's Durangoby Julia Cho, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Wit by Margaret Edson, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer and The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. Like Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre has received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

The design team for The Bluest Eye includes Scenic Designer Scott Bradley, who previously designed Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, Dutchman, Oedipus the King, and Electra at Hartford Stage. Mr. Bradley has designed over 200 productions at regional theatres across the country. On Broadway, he received a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award nomination for August Wilson's Seven Guitars and a Drama Desk nomination for Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Lighting Design is by Russell H. Champa, making his Hartford Stage debut. Broadway credits include Julia Sweeney's God Said "Ha!" He has numerous Off-Broadway and Regional credits. Toni-Leslie James designed the costumes for The Bluest Eye, having previously designed Baptiste at Hartford Stage. Her Broadway credits include Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, One Mo' Time, King Hedley II, The Wild Party, Marie Christine, Footloose, The Tempest (DramaDesk nomination), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Angels in America, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Jelly's Last Jam (Tony and Drama Desk nominations). Sound Design and original music is by Michael Bodeen and Rob Milburn, who previously worked at Hartford Stage on Topdog/Underdog, From the Mississippi Delta, and Marvin's Room. Their Broadwaycredits include music composition and sound for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Speed of Darkness; music for My Thing of Love; and sound for A Year with Frog and Toad, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Hollywood Arms, King Hedley II, Buried Child, The Song of Jacob Zulu and The Grapes of Wrath..

Tickets for The Bluest Eye are $23 to $64. A limited number of $10 "Ten Spot" tickets are also available for all performances, making Hartford Stage among the most affordable entertainment options in Connecticut. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more by calling 860-520-7244. What a Rush! half-price tickets to The Bluest Eye may be purchased, subject to availability, beginning two hours before each performance in person at the box office only. Patrons must request What a Rush! tickets at the time of purchase to receive this discount. Tickets for children and students are $10 off the full price when purchased in advance. Students of Capital Community College may purchase one $10 ticket to The Bluest Eye upon presentation of their student ID at the Hartford Stage box office. All discount programs are subject to availability and cannot combined with other discount offers. Hartford Stage has wheelchair accessible seating, assistive listening devices and other amenities. For more information, please call the Hartford Stage box office. Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford with parking located in the MAT Garage, directly adjacent to the theatre. The theatre is accessible from I-84 and I-91.

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