Quilt: A Musical Celebration
Quilt: A Musical Celebration
Lyrics by Jim Morgan
Music by Michael Stockler
Book by Jim Morgan, Merle Hubbard and John Schak
Directed by Wade Hair and Erynn Hair
Musical Direction by Erik Branch
Staring Rob Ross, Kelly Elisabeth Fagan
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park FL</strong>
Twenty one people on stage, a full house, and an opening number with lit candles – I know where the exits are, but this is flirting with disaster. But they all extinguished safely, and off we went into what now count as s a period piece of socially conscience musical theater. Written in 1992 and based on the “NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt,” this loosely follows a number of people who have lost friends and family to the epidemic. The central characters are Wes (Ross) and Karen (Fagan) who meet while sewing panels for the quilt at the Gay and Lesbian Center. Wes is planning a Seconol based suicide and Karen is worried her friends might think she’s gay. Wes lost his lover “gumdrop” and Karen’s was dating Dr. Ted who used her as a cover for his real life. Along the way we meet Mrs. Polaski (Kendra Musselle) who denies her son was gay (“We were very close. He would have told me something like that”) and the Brown Family (Treniecia Ward, Josan Battle, Kimberly Bonny) who lost a sister and her baby to aids contacted from the mysterious “Jamal” and a Maria (Candy Heller) who’s son received an infected kidney transplant.
Occasionally heavy handed, always angry, and overall hopeful this show reflects the state of HIV 20 years ago. While none of the tunes are especially memorable there were some excellent renditions, starting with Wade Hair singing “At a Distance” and wrapping up with Vicki Burns’ “In the Absence of Angels”. Gloria Duggan looked elegant as the well to do mother and Justin Scarlat as the “funny uncle.” As the songs progressed, a simulacrum of the AIDS quilt appeared on a Velcro board. While each victim had his or her own story, the common thread is the friendship between Wes and Karen. He finds a reason to keep living, and she finds a reason to start helping people, although her sewing skills are a bit dangerous. Off on the side we find Erik Branch pounding out the sound track on a spinet, his music illuminated by a purple lamp that reflects off his tuxedo.
With a packed house, there were plenty of people who have stories of their own loss, someone even left in the first act to go out and sob in the lobby. As musical go, this is more a call to action than an evening’s romp, but it’s good to look back and see that despite the death and misery, there is hope. There’s always hope.
For more information, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com
