The lights dim and a man enters, sits on the floor and begins writing on the edge of a quilt block to his friend and lover, Philip, a recent victim of the AIDS epidemic. The man, Wes, is HIV-positive, and though he later admits to contemplating suicide, he also acknowledges that making a memorial panel for Philip for the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt has given him a reason to live a little while longer. M.A.D. Theatre of Tampa produces Quilt, A Musical Celebration, a collection of stories and songs about people honoring the lives of loved ones lost to AIDS. A portion of royalties for Quilt go to AIDS organizations like Equity Fights AIDS and the Names Project. M.A.D. Theatre also provides a community quilt panel at each performance for audience members to contribute their own memories of friends and family affected by (or taken by) AIDS. The panel will be submitted to the Names Project after the final performance. June 9-25, 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., Masque Community Theater, 825 56th St., Temple Terrace, $15 adults/$14 children, seniors and students, 813-786-6291, www.madtheatre.com.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2006.