An adaptation of The Bluest Eye by Lydia R. Diamond was first performed in Chicago, Illinois in 2005, before seeing further adaptations around the United States.
- The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois commissioned Lydia R. Diamond to adapt the novel into a full-length stage production.[65] This play was developed through the Steppenwolf for Young Adults and the New Plays Initiative, where it received its world premiere in February 2005.[66] The play was reprised in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theatre in October 2006. The Bluest Eye received its off-Broadway premiere at the New Victory Theater in New York in November, 2006.[67]
- In 2010, Phantom Projects Educational Theatre Group presented the Lydia R. Diamond adaptation at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, California.[68]
- Rapper Talib Kweli used the book as an inspiration for his song "Thieves in the Night" with Mos Def on the Blackstar album.[69]
- In 2017, the Guthrie Theatre presented a production of The Bluest Eye, produced and adapted by Lydia R. Diamond, and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.[70] This production is said to give the book "a poetic staging",[71] staging the entire play in one act.[72] The adapted script presents the abuse in a stylized form. The production was critically appraised, with the role of Pecola being particularly celebrated.[73]
