The Spitfire GrillMusic & Book by James Valcq August 12 - 28, 2005
Based on the 1996 film of the same name (which was an Audience Award Winner at the Sundance Film Festival) The Spitfire Grill received its world premiere at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NY, in November 2000. That production transferred off-Broadway to New York’s Playwrights Horizons in September 2001, where the uplifting story and gentle Appalachian-style songs provided a soothing balm that helped heal an aching city’s troubled heart. Even John Simon, the notoriously acerbic New York Magazine drama critic, said of The Spitfire Grill: "What even in normal times would be a joy is, in these troubled ones, sheer nourishment." The show won the 2001 Richard Rodgers Production Award, and was nominated for "Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical" by the New York Outer Critics Circle. It has subsequently received productions in Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In an interview in Insights in 2004, composer James Valcq comments: "It's the classic folk tale of the person who changes the life of everyone she comes into contact with, including her own," Valcq says, adding that the script is "not an adaptation of the film, but a re-adaptation. We took our own detours, abandoning some of the plot elements and stressing more of the characterization. There's great joy in the story, but these people really earn it." Rounding out the cast of The Spitfire Grill is Don Smith of Raleigh (Caleb), Del Flack of Durham (Eli), Brett Wilson of Raleigh (Joe) and RLT newcomer, Anne Butman of Raleigh (Effy). Directed by RLT Artistic Director, Haskell Fitz-Simons. Musical direction is by Lori McLelland (Raleigh), with a massive revolving set by RLT’s scenic designer, Rick Young; costumes by RLT’s costume designer, Vicki Olson; and lights by RLT’s technical director, Roger Bridges.
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Winner of the Richard Rogers Production Award while running Off-Broadway, The Spitfire Grill is a compelling modern folk tale about Percy (Staci Sabarsky of Durham), a young woman trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered past, who meets worn-out, feisty Spitfire Grill owner, Hannah (Rose Martin of Raleigh) and the shy and meek Shelby (Elanah Sykes of Raleigh). Together the three breathe new life into an entire town. Awash with country and bluegrass-flavored tunes, its homespun charms are as inviting as a warm winter blanket. The songs range from the powerhouse opening ballad "A Ring Around the Moon" through the engagingly comic "Out of the Frying Pan" to the clamoring country hoe-down "Shoot the Moon".