Mike Brown
Residents of a struggling Wisconsin town find a sense of purpose in this excellent adaptation of a sappy film.
For audience members who grew up in small towns in Wisconsin, much about Four Seasons Theatre’s heartwarming production of The Spitfire Grill will look familiar. Everyone knows everyone else. There’s one place where the locals hang out to get a cup of coffee and catch up on the latest gossip. Things invariably used to be better, whether that means the local quarry has recently shut down, or GM closed the plant. Young people are moving away, and there’s nothing more interesting — or suspicious — than someone new settling in the hamlet.
When a young woman named Percy shows up at a bus stop in the middle of winter, she’s just been released from a five-year prison sentence. Because there’s nowhere else to stay and no other jobs available, her parole officer suggests she take a room at the Spitfire Grill and work at the diner. Percy starts a new chapter of her life, as does the restaurant, many of the residents, and the town itself.
The Spitfire Grill was adapted from the 1996 movie of the same title, and converted into a musical by the Wisconsin duo of James Valq and American Folklore Theatre co-founder Fred Alley. After a short Broadway run, it’s been performed hundreds of times across the country and internationally. It’s a story of rebirth and redemption set in the mythical town of Gilead, Wisconsin. Leaning on a pleasant blend of folk, country and musical theater styles, the score is tuneful and approachable. This production features an accomplished and perfectly balanced ensemble of musicians on piano, violin, cello, guitar, mandolin and accordion. (And yes, that’s Four Seasons’ producing artistic director Sarah Marty on her “big red” squeeze box.)
Eva Nimmer is luminous in the lead role. Her unpretentious voice fits her unassuming character. As Percy she is grounded but also vulnerable and damaged. Alone in a spotlight, she sets exactly the right tone in her solo “Ring Around the Moon.” Another highlight of the evening is her frantic and twangy “Out of the Frying Pan,” where she expertly captures the chaos of being a short-order cook.
Marja Barger hits the right notes with her portrayal of the gruff-on-the-outside, marshmallow-on-the-inside owner of the Spitfire Grill. And Jordan Peterson does fine with the softball role of the local sheriff with a heart of gold. His duet with Percy, “This Wide Woods,” showcases his agile, warm voice and his emotional range. As the put-upon wife Shelby, Mari Bass fills the sturdy best friend and woman-coming-into-her-own roles with stoic resolve; her gorgeous soprano fills in the lovely high notes in ensemble numbers.
The musical improves on its source material, which movie critic Roger Ebert called an “unabashedly manipulative, melodramatic tearjerker.” Yet it still retains some flat characters, predictable plot points and sappy dialogue. Trevor Bass and Sarah Streich do all they can with these stale types — Bass as a controlling chauvinist and Streich as the town busybody, a role she mines for comic moments with glee.
While it isn’t exactly a holiday show, this production of Spitfire Grill makes a nice family outing during this season of thankfulness and joy. Running through Dec. 10 in the Playhouse at Overture, it’s a lovely reminder that hope is all around us and second chances are worth taking.
