JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

When “Quilters” opens Wednesday at Jonesborough Repertory Theatre, the show itself will be a celebration of the musical story it tells — of women experiencing the ups and downs of life and enduring them with grace, grit and humor.

Director Kathleen Buttolph described the play as telling “a story of women who pour themselves and their personalities into the work at hand.”

That’s just what the cast has done as it prepared for the musical’s five-day run. First the members had to learn a very challenging combination of dialogue and song encompassing multiple characters and parts, in what is one of the more difficult shows JRT has put on. None were familiar with the music before joining the production.

One cast member, Carter Florence, had to drop out due to illness just a few days ago, meaning the other cast members had to share and learn her parts, and a couple of the accompanying musicians joined the production only recently.

“We could not have done this if we hadn’t had the cast we’ve got,” said Jennifer Schmidt, musical director. “Musically this is very, very difficult but we have very, very talented actresses. This is a great show; it’s sad, it’s happy, it’s all kinds of stories about women’s lives and how they deal with hardships. We feel like we’re kind of living the story right now. It kind of mirrors the women in the play — to make the most and go on with it.”

The play is written by Molly Newman and Barbara Damashek and was described by Newsweek as “a tender and moving work. ... a human patchwork rippling in the breeze of memory.” It uses the quilt as a framework for different patchworks of life experiences.

Originally developed and produced at the Denver Center Theatre, it is based on the book “The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art,” compiled by Patricia Cooper and Norma Bradley Buferd. Portions of the dialogue were taken directly from the conversations of women as they quilted.

The JRT cast is made up of Pat Adams, who plays the main character of Sarah, and Susan Lachmann, Mary Nell McIntyre, Vanessa Baisden, Jenni Hughes, Maria Buchanan and Amanda McIntyre.

Baisden, for one, is treading new ground for “Quilters.” The well-known singer for the blues-swing band Blue Rapture brought no acting or formal musical experience into rehearsal.

“It is completely different, and the music is a totally different genre,” she said, “but I’m so excited to be in it. The girls I’m working with have beautiful, trained voices, and I’ve got this rough, blues voice. A lot of these girls sight-read music, too. So the first week I said ‘Oh, no — what have I gotten myself into?’

“Singing with Blue Rapture, I get to improvise and sing what I want, so it’s been a long time since I’ve been constrained like this. The music is in a different range as far as which key, but I feel like my range has been expanded and I love that. I didn’t know it was in me to sing like a soprano.”

The play will run from Wednesday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m. with a closing matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center.

A post-performance opening-night gala will be held at Main Street Cafe in Jonesborough. Anyone who attends the opening-night performance is invited to attend and meet the cast and crew. Light refreshments will be served.

Many of the area’s leading merchants are supporting “Quilters.” Tennessee Quilts has created each quilt block for the show, which will be presented in conjunction with Quilt Fest in Jonesborough. Madeline’s in Johnson City is providing costumes and Judith Fox has created the “Cornelia” corncob dolls.

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com

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