Point Park Conservatory Opens ‘The Bluest Eye’; ‘Deadpool’ Continues Strong Run (Thurs., 2/25/16)

1) Toni Morrison’s first novel—the one that set her on the path to a Nobel Prize for Literature—also ranks high on banned book lists. There have been frequent attempts to keep The Bluest Eye out of schools and libraries nationwide. It won’t be kept off the stage in Pittsburgh, as Point Park Conservatory Theatre performs playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s adaptation of the controversial story. The Bluest Eye is about a preteen African American girl who dreams of becoming white, thinking she’d then be prettier. Instead she becomes pregnant after being raped by her estranged father. Many twists and turns follow, played out both in surreal visions and on the level of harsh reality. Diamond’s The Bluest Eye was commissioned by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, which premiered it in 2005 for audiences teenaged and up. The play is reputedly not as brutal as the novel but not for small children, either. In the Rauh Theatre at Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. Pay-what-you-want preview performance on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m.  February 25-28 and March 10-13. (MV)

2) Deadpool – I know you won’t believe this but there’s another spandex wearing character in the Marvel Universe who hasn’t been given his own franchise. You’d think, by now, they’d’ve run out … but no, here comes Deadpool. Actually he showed up played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine but apparently they pulled a few punches with the characters. Reynolds returns in a version the creators swear will be more true to the way he’s presented in the comic books. When he was first introduced in 1991 he was a super villain, but he’s since morphed into a mentally unstable anti-hero mercenary with a black, profane sense of humor who, by the way, is also “omnisexual.” Let’s see how much of that gets into this movie which also stars, inexplicably, Leslie Uggams. Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

3) Mario’s East Side hosts Team Trivia Night every Thursday. Win, place, or show and your team will earn Mario’s gift certificates. Play against the Miller Lite Girls, and you could even win Miller Lite trinkets and giveaways! Feed your brain some chewy trivia and your stomach some delicious Mario’s food. 8 p.m. 5442 Walnut St., Shadyside.

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