This is a story of four sisters and one next-generation woman told in large swaths. Katori Hall writes well and often about people who have deep history invested in one another (The Hot Wing King was a brilliant play that opened weeks before the pandemic and closed way too soon). She digs deep and takes no prisoners. Lileana Blain-Cruz is the Resident Director at Lincoln Center Theatre and appreciates the idea of challenging the audience to sit up and lean in. All in all an impressive team.
This story of four sisters is unique and universal. They meet on an island off the coast of Georgia, where their family has lived for generations. Decades – perhaps centuries – of history are found in the quilts with which these women grew up. Quilts were the one constant on which they could depend. If I get this correctly (the details are a bit sketchy), each of the sisters was fathered by a different man, and each of these men disappointed their mother. All that is left of them is a collection of stories and some important memorabilia, including the quilts themselves.
Clementine (Crystal Dickinson) is the sister who stayed home to care for their mother (recently deceased). Gio (Adrienne C. Moore) is a local cop filled with beer and resentment. Cassan (Susan Kelechi Watson) is an army medic and mother of the unpredictable Zambia (Mirirai). Amber (Lauren E. Banks) is the one who got away and became a hot lawyer for famous folks.
Amber is also the one delegated by their mother to read THE WILL about which no one knew. It is the reading of the will that sets this family into a royal tailspin. Clementine will stand against any change that pulls them away from their heritage ,while the rest will have plenty to say and argue as the story reveals itself.
As a whole, this production is a bit of a jumble. Staging is awkward, dialogue overlaps and is easily missed, and the story wanders. While the first act is relatively tight, the second act takes off for parts unknown and tries to include so much that we lose the thread of the story. As the tale reaches its conclusion, there are a series of “one more thing” elements that feel unsupported. This is exquisite ensemble work, but that is not quite enough to keep us buoyed until the final final.
THE BLOOD QUILT by Katori Hall, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.
WITH Lauren E. Banks, Crystal Dickinson, Mirirai, Adrienne C. Moore, and Susan Kelechi Watson.
THE BLOOD QUILT features sets by Adam Rigg, costumes by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting by Jiyoun Chang, sound by Palmer Hefferan, and projections by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew. Theresa Flanagan is the Stage Manager.
At Lincoln Center Theater. Through December 29th. Tickets HERE
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