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.
Not a particularly subtle family drama, The Blood Quilt is overstuffed with content and its resolution seems a tad far-fetched in timing, frankly, but the playwright’s fine gift for natural conversation keeps things rolling along agreeably. If The Blood Quilt is not among Hall’s better plays, at least it is a pleasant work that provides good roles for actors. Observed at a preview last weekend, the production staged by Lileana Blain-Cruz had not completely flowered. The performances were all right, quite capable even, but that crucial emotional fusion that transforms actors into an ensemble, particularly when they’re depicting a family, had yet to happen. A climactic scene involving a ritual appeared more chaotic than meaningful.
Ms. Hall’s focus in “Quilt” is on four sisters who are reunited after their mother’s death. Clementine, who’s apparently single, is the eldest, and was the closest to their mom. Gio, a police officer, has the biggest mouth; embroiled in what’s clearly a nasty divorce, she self-medicates with marijuana, as Clementine alternately disapproves and shares her supply.
2024 | Off-Broadway |
LCT Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
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