QUILTERS Concludes Denver Center Theater's Season, Opens 5/22 At Stage Theater

The Denver Center Theatre Company concludes the season by opening a new production of the inspiring pioneer musical Quilters by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek, music and lyrics by Barbara Damashek - one of the most honored and best loved world premieres in the company's 30 season history.

Quilters by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek

Music and Lyrics by Barbara Damashek

Based on "The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art"

by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Allen

Directed by Penny Metropulos

May 22 - July 12, 2009 (Opening Thursday, May 28) The Stage Theatre

After the Denver Premiere, Quilters toured and became a record-setting regional theater success before opening on Broadway with six 1984 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score.

Quilters was inspired by the real life diaries and letters of pioneer women in the American West, written as they braved the dangers and hardships of life on the frontier - a loving patchwork stitched together with music, moments of vibrant and passionate drama, joy, laughter and tears. Newsweek called Quilters "...a tender and moving theatre work, a human patchwork rippling in the breeze of memory."

Directing this new production is Penny Metropulos (The Trip to Bountiful, You Can't Take it With You). The Musical Director is Sterling Tinsley (Denver Center debut) and the Associate Music Director and Conductor is Deborah Schmidt-Lobis (White Christmas, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). Inspired by early photographs of the stark Western prairie and wide, empty horizon, the design team includes Scenic Designer William Bloodgood (A Prayer for Owen Meany, Dusty and the Big Bad World, You Can't Take It With You), Costume Designer Constanza Romero (Denver Center debut), Lighting Designer Don Darnutzer (Richard III, The Trip to Bountiful, Plainsong) and Sound Designer Craig Breitenbach (A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Christmas Carol, Noises Off). Dramaturgy for Quilters is by Douglas Langworthy (Sunsets and Margaritas, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Inana).

Leading the cast is original Quilters touring company member, Kathleen M. Brady (A Prayer for Owen Meany, Richard III, The Trip to Bountiful) as Sarah. The acting ensemble includes company member Christine Rowan (White Christmas, You Can't Take It With You, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum) and, appearing on Denver Center stages for the first time, Victoria Adams-Zischke (Rabbit Hole at Repertory Theatre of St Louis), Susannah Flood (The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter at New York Theater Workshop), Kara Lindsay (Little House on the Prairie at The Guthrie Theater and the upcoming national tour), Linda Mugleston (Young Frankenstein on Broadway, the Summit reading of The Unsinkable Molly Brown) and Jeff Skowron (Broadway's The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast).

Special Lobby Event "Community of Quilts"

In celebration of the Quilters homecoming, a special exhibit of quilts will be on display in the main lobby of the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex. The exhibit, collected through a nationwide search for "quilts with a story" by The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, will include the original quilt from the world premiere production of Quilters and more than 30 others.

Among the quilts on display will be panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt - the largest ongoing community arts project in the world - commemorating the lives of more than 40,000 individuals.

Brenda Ohlschwager, Executive Director of the museum said, "It is an honor to celebrate the legacy of quilters and to be a part of the Quilters homecoming."

Hours of the exhibit are 5pm to 8pm Monday - Saturday (May 22 - June 20) and Tuesday - Sunday (June 23 - July 12).

Performance Schedule

May 22 - June 20

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances are at 6:30pm.

Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30pm.

Saturday matinees are at 1:30pm

June 23 - July 12

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday performances are at 6:30pm.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening performances are at 7:30pm.

Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 1:30pm

No performances on July 4.
Tickets and Subscriptions

Single tickets start at $36 and are on sale now. The Denver Center Box Office located in the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex is open from 10am to 6pm Monday through Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone call (303) 893-4100 - for those outside the Denver calling area,

1 (800) 641-1222, TTY (303) 893-9582. Buy and print tickets on-line by visiting www.denvercenter.org.

 

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