Lileana Blain-Cruz will direct The Blood Quilt by Katori Hall. Gathering at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia, four disconnected sisters meet to create a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. When their reunion turns into a reading of their mother’s will, everyone must grapple with a troubling inheritance. Stitched with history, ritual, laughter and tears, will their “blood quilt” bind the family together or tear them apart forever? The Blood Quilt had its premiere at Arena Stage in Washington, DC.
The Blood Quilt stitched storylines that gripped me emotionally until the play’s end. While I understood how much of it tied up, I was left hanging with several unanswered questions and loose threads. When Hall took quilting lessons from her grandmother she learned to “hand-piece,” which she feels an essential and remarkable way of putting together quilts. Perhaps, it is also the way for each of us to put together a life.
The program states that Kwemera means “to last, endure, withstand.” The choice of site is Hall’s way of outlining what she hopes, even expects, sisters to do—and the play as well. The good word is that she has succeeded at writing a drama that will last, that will endure.
| 2024 | Off-Broadway |
LCT Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Adrienne C. Moore |
Videos