STAGE REVIEW : ‘QUILTERS’ HAS TINGE OF A GRANDMA MOSES WORK

The Grove Theatre Company’s “Quilters” has the quality of a Grandma Moses folk painting--it captures that quaint essence of American frontier life as it raises the settlers to icons of bravery and hope.

The musical centers on a time when living by Emerson’s code of self-reliance wasn’t a choice but a necessity--survival depended on spiritual strength and making do. The challenge was particularly demanding for women, the linchpin of family life. Their men held their own against the harsh environment through work and the satisfaction it brought. But what of the women? They found grace through handling daily troubles and, as suggested by Barbara Damashek’s and Molly Newman’s often stirring show, by making quilts, an expression of continuity and creativity in a harsh world.

“Quilters” begins with a lesson on the craft as mother Sarah Bonham (Donna Fuller) tells her daughters (Susan Adams, Joan-Carrol Baron, Cherie L. Brown, Robin Christiaens, Debbie Gates and Pippa Winslow) about the significance of each quilt pattern. It’s a study in tradition and an oral history of the Bonham clan. In song and narrative, the women describe the fires that swept over their farms, the twisters that ruined their homes and the illnesses that killed their cattle and children, all the while relying on family unity and the quilting art that helps to keep it together. The stories are reflected in each pattern, and several will be joined for the finale, stitching it all neatly together. Maybe a little too neatly. “Quilters” sometimes suffers from a Pollyanna naivete, but it’s generally a vital and revealing story.

The Grove players do not hesitate to make heroes of Sarah and her daughters. Director Thomas F. Bradac gives us steely, enduring women who are forged by hard living. All of the actresses offer confident performances that underscore their characters’ durability and resourcefulness. There may be a little too much gingham and calico in their portrayals, but the portraits are still tender and moving. Fuller’s flinty-eyed matriarch, in particular, is a presence to be reckoned with; behind that sharp, sometimes spooked stare is a glimpse of the barren road she has traveled--a path her daughters now find themselves facing.

They also bring satisfying, nicely scaled deliveries to the many songs, modeled on American folk music. Damashek’s melodies and fervent lyrics are rooted deep in the land and our country’s history; they carry the cadence of covered wagons on the wilderness trail and the soulful resonance of gospel choruses asking for God’s help along the way.

“Quilters” is basically a straightforward, uncomplicated musical, and Bradac emphasizes its purity with a low-key but imaginative approach. He employs uncluttered and inventive staging to emphasize the more dramatic moments: Twirling scarlet ribbons become a terrifying blaze; flowing blue sheets represent the river during a baptism, and the cast carries large hoops to depict a wagon on the bumpy road West. These illusions are enhanced by David Palmer’s haunting lighting and Gil Morales’ unpretentious, roomy set. There has to be plenty of space for the last scene when the giant quilt, all pieces in place, is unfurled for the audience’s approval. The moment is an epiphany, the triumph that blots out a generation of hardship.

“Quilters” runs through Nov. 1 at the Gem Theatreat 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. For information, call (714) 636-7214.