Spotlighting QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION
Spotlighting QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION
By EllaRose Chary on December 01, 2014
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In 1987, the NAMES PROJECT AIDS Memorial Quilt was created. The physical quilt is described on its website as a “poignant memorial, a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections, and the largest ongoing community arts project in the world.” QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION takes this art project to another level. As a theater piece, the show uses story and song to add another dimension to the emotional weight and significance of the physical quilt. Appropriately, the physical Quilt was on display at the National Mall when the first production of QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION happened at University of Maryland and The Smithsonian Institute.
![NAMES Project](https://www.mtishows.com/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/monument_1.jpg)
In an attempt to help the piece reach the widest possible audience, there are several modifications for the actual script to make QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION producible for theater companies of all sizes, as well as ways to work around controversial material to make the piece workable in all communities. There are guidelines in the script regarding which songs to omit or include depending on the needs of the performance. The show features a multi-racial cast ranging in age from 12-70 years old. While the original production had 22 actors, the cast can accommodate as many as 30 actors, or can be reduced to as few as 13. The goal of this flexibility is to make the material accessible to theaters of all sizes.
While there are the sentimental and heart-wrenching moments, as one would expect for a piece with this subject matter, QUILT: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION is also full of upbeat and funny material. While a tearjerker, the piece is certainly not depressing or despondent. Like the best shows that deal with tragedy, and the quilt itself, this musical is about living not about dying, and the score and scenes reflect that.