EATON — On Aug. 14 and 15, Preble Players delivered a powerful production of Newman and Damashek’s production of “Quilters.”
Based on Patricia Cooper’s and Norma Bradley Allen’s book, The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art,” the play explores the lives of Sarah Bonham and her daughters as they tell the story of piecing and quilting their lives together during the Westward Expansion.
The story is told through song, dance, and quilt blocks. Those blocks were created by local quilters Jane Marshall, Cindy Biggs, Liz King-Jones, Jeanette Russell, Brinda Swihart, Marty Allen, Nancy Kramer, Kate Maul, and Sharon Hiles. The final quilt was quilted by Thomas Marshall.
Staged outdoors at the Garber Nature Center, a part of the Preble County Parks District, the production was viewed by approximately 200 people. The Village of Lewisburg and the Preble County Senior Center provided shuttle buses and drivers to and from the location.
Directed by Ruthanne Munger and music direction by Steve Stoller, the production brought the audiences to their feet. The board president of Preble Players, Lisa Marling, shared that it had been a show 19 months in the making. It was supposed to stage in March of 2020 when COVID-19 shut everything down.
“We are humbled and grateful to see the audience reactions,” Marling said. “Finding our footing after COVID has been an exercise in perseverance. We are grateful to all who have remembered the Arts and Preble Players.”
Preble Players will be holding a fundraiser in November and the next production will be the annual “Holiday Happening: A Community Folly” directed by Lisa Marling and hosted by The Joy and Whimsy Depot in Lewisburg. Visit http://www.prebleplayers.org or follow them on Facebook for audition information.
