Quilters

This time, it’s a musical called Quilters, involving an all-female ensemble cast of seven, and featuring a mix of songs and short dramatic episodes about life and hardship on the Western frontier during the mid-1800s.

The central metaphor is quilting—the practice of saving scraps of fabric, and incorporating them, through a long process involving lots of stitching, sometimes done communally, into beautiful, warm spreads that can last for more than a lifetime. Quilt blocks are the major props on stage, and indeed the whole interior of the Opera House is hung with them.

If that sounds a bit like a sweet, Norman Rockwell image, keep in mind that this show also involves onstage childbirth, raising a dozen or more children (several of whom die young), and having your husband brought home in pieces after he’s hit by a train. Death is never very far away in these women’s lives.

But it’s basically an uplifting piece that manages to be introspective and retrospective at the same time, with a number of good songs. Tall, sturdy Nancy Agee heads an appealing cast of community actresses, clad in long dresses and aprons. Director Roy Spicer conjures moments of giddy, girlish happiness and devastating personal loss, and also leads the four-piece band from the piano.

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Abandon Productions is staging a four-night revival of Subject to Change (America: Revolution to Revelation), an ensemble piece that explores the nation’s history through the use of physical action and sound, under the direction of Doniel Soto. The show earned favorable reviews and played to large audiences during its initial run last fall. Performances will be held nightly at 8 p.m. Sept 11 to 14 in The Space, 2509 R St, 737-2304, $15. Proceeds will benefit 9/11 relief efforts.