The Denver Center Theater Company produced the world premiere of Quilters in 1982. The musical then was produced at the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, California, in December 1983; the Pittsburgh Public Theater from December 16, 1983 to January 30, 1984; and for 7 weeks at the Kennedy Center, Washington, DC starting August 4, 1984 through September 1984. Damashek directed Quilters at the Edinburgh Festival, The Dublin Theatre Festival, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, and the Mark Taper Forum. Quilters opened on Broadway at the Jack Lawrence Theatre on September 25, 1984 and closed on October 14, 1984 after 24 performances and 5 previews. It was directed by Barbara Damashek, with scenic design by Ursula Belden, costume design by Elizabeth Palmer, and lighting design by Allen Lee Hughes, and featured Lenka Peterson as Sarah. Despite an unfavorable review from Frank Rich in the New York Times and short run, the musical was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has been performed by numerous college and community theater groups across the United States. In 1986, the Frontier Follies in Jamestown, North Dakota presented the first outdoor theater production of Quilters with actress Mary Reinhardt performing the role of one of the multi-faceted "daughters." Composers Tania S. Wahl and Carrie Kraft were employed, respectively, as Director and Musical Director for the presentation. A full, stage-size quilt was constructed at the University of North Dakota for the outdoor production. Some in the conservative midwestern area questioned the inclusion of the herbal abortion allusion in the Frontier Follies production. The Denver Center Theater Company again presented the musical May 22 through June 12, 2009. Barbara Damashek was the director for Quilters at the Edinburgh Festival, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, and the Mark Taper Forum. In 2009, the Missouri History Museum, Forest Park presented Quilters in one of the settings from the musical.
Plot summary
In the American West, a pioneer woman, Sarah, and six women, who are called her daughters, face frontier life. Rather than a straightforward storyline, the musical is presented as a series of short tales and tableaux matched with musical numbers, each presenting an aspect of frontier life or womanhood. The patches or blocks show "girlhood, marriage, childbirth, spinsterhood, twisters, fire, illness and death." The patches are ultimately put together to form one dramatic tableau.
In his New York Times review Frank Rich wrote " Quilters is a static melange of skits, monologues and songs unified by a theme rather than a sustained plot or characters." The Washington Post reviewer wrote: " 'Quilters' should probably be billed as a "play with music," lest you go expecting a big musical number to lift the proceedings a peg or two. Nothing is really big in this production. Its greatest strength is its unassuming honesty. It creates moods, more than it does drama, and its best moods are straightforward, like the people it is celebrating...The script is divided loosely into 16 sections or "blocks," dealing with such themes as childbirth, school days, windmills, courtship, weddings, country roads, religion and even log cabins. At the start of each section, one of the actresses unfolds a piece of quilting, which incorporates that particular concern into its design. Handsome and tidy pieces of work, they combine at the end to make one huge quilt, which is raised high, the flag of pioneer womanhood. It is a transcendent finale."
