Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater with the world premiere of her most personal project to date-the fierce comedy-drama The Blood Quilt. Hall is an inaugural resident playwright of Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute, and The Blood Quilt is one of three plays from Hall receiving world premieres around the country this season. Hall reunites with director and Howard University alumna Kamilah Forbes (artistic director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival) following their Broadway collaboration on The Mountaintop. The Blood Quilt runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater. Check out a first look at the meet and greet below!
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 and ritual, laughter and tears, will their "blood quilt" bind the family together or tear them apart forever?
The Jernigan sisters will be played by Tonye Patano (Heylia James on Showtime's Weeds, recently The Public Theater/American Repertory Theater's Father Comes Home From The Wars) as Clementine, the eldest sister; Caroline Clay (Broadway's The Royal Family) as Gio, the second sister; Nikiya Mathis (Alliance Theatre's By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) as Cassan, the third sister and Meeya Davis (a recent graduate of Rutgers University) as Amber, the youngest sister. Afi Bijou (Broadway's Holler If Ya Hear Me and Fela!) will play Cassan's teenage daughter Zambia.
For full company biographies and additional production information visit arenastage.org/shows-tickets/the-season/productions/the-blood-quilt/.
All photos courtesy Arena Stage
Executive Producer Edgar Dobie and resident dramaturg Jocelyn Clarke
The cast
Director Kamilah Forbes and cast member Tonye Patano
Playwright Katori Hall and the company
Director Kamilah Forbes and playwright Katori Hall
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