Review: ‘Spitfire Grill’ at Actors’ Playhouse a Tender, Sugar-Coated Musical

Emily Van Vliet Perea, Laura Turnbull, Nate Promkul, Kimberly Doreen Burns, and Heather Jane Rolff in “The Spitfire Grill” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Coral Gables, through Sunday, Nov. 2. (Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

The fish out of water story begins when a woman, fresh off the bus from prison, shows up in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin.

The sheriff told his warden friend he’d find a place for Percy Talbot (Emily Van Vliet Perea), and so he does – at Hannah Ferguson’s (Laura Turnbull) diner, the Spitfire Grill.

Emily Van Vliet Perea as Percy Talbott in
“The Spitfire Grill” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle
Theatre, Coral Gables. (Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

The musical, now playing at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre as the kick off to its season through Sunday, Nov. 2, got its inspiration from the 1996 movie “The Spitfire Grill.” Watching the film almost 30 years later, the movie —a star vehicle for Ellen Burstyn as Hannah and with a very young Marcia Gay Harden as Shelby Thorpe — plays like a Hallmark Channel movie.

It got mixed reviews when it opened for being dark and dramatic. James Valcq and Fred Alley kept the drama (most of it anyway) but lightened up “The Spitfire Grill” when they decided it needed a folksy musical score with the underpinnings of country, bluegrass and blues influences. The musical opened off-Broadway in 2001.

Still, the redemption story, second chances and finding a home in the comfort of strangers, even as a musical, has its Hallmark moments. So, how to overcome that? Dive in with earnestness and commitment, and your audience will excuse and maybe even love some of the hokey moments.

Director David Arisco had his heart set on “The Spitfire Grill” for some time and believed the small-scale musical would be a mighty nice fit for the intimate space in the theater’s 300-seat second-floor Balcony Theatre. Brandon Newton’s set is certainly what creates the immersion into the world of Gilead – Hannah’s porch on stage right and the rest of the space filled with the kitchen and main diner area, along with Sam Sigler’s props that give the Spitfire genuineness.

Laura Turnbull, center, as Hannah Ferguson with Emily Van Vliet Perea as Percy Talbott, left, and Kimberly Doreen Burns as Shelby Thorpe in
“The Spitfire Grill” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. (Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

The musical opens with Percy waxing poetic about turning the page on a new life. “What seems like fifty years, or maybe it was five. It’s hard to count the days when you’re buried alive.” And then Alley’s lyrics use the familiar phrase of a children’s hide-and-seek game, which signals it’s safe to come out without a penalty – it’s a metaphor that Percy sings as she gets ready to face the townsfolk – “Ready or not, here I come, olly olly oxen free.”

Van Vliet Perea is fetching as Perchance “Percy” Talbot, the rough and tumble parolee from Detroit, who brings along with her a Southern accent from growing up in the mountains of West Virginia. It even more so entrenches the character as an outsider in the small midwestern town, and Van Vliet Perea’s accent is spot on. Her strong vocals are a perfect fit for the country-style folk. The simple lyrics sometimes belie the complicated structure of the songs with Van Vliet Perea and standout Kimberly Doreen Burns as Shelby wrapping the notes so seamlessly that the storytelling, which could get lost, remains front and center.

In the second act, Burns’ perfect soprano soars in the interpretation of the beautiful “Wild Bird.” The actress has the task of making convincing one of the most classic of character arcs: shy wallflower comes out of her shell. Here, tragically meek Shelby finds strength through her sisterhood at the Spitfire Grill.

Kimberly Doreen Burns as Shelby Thorpe sings “Wild Bird” to Percy Talbott, played by Emily Van Vliet Perea in the Actors’ Playhouse production of “The Spitfire Grill.”
(Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

Laura Turnbull as the owner of the Spitfire, brings the right feisty energy to the role of the widow ready to hang up the towel. She’s particularly convincing when she has a change of heart about the outlier when she realizes Percy may be the exact infusion needed to give the sleepy town a reason to wake up. But Turnbull’s Hannah is loud and clear in the first strains of their meeting singing: “Smart mouthed girl, fresh outta jail, can’t tell a skillet from a garbage pail.”

For comic relief, there’s nosy postmistress Effy Krayneck, with Heather Jane Rolff playing the self-appointed town crier with deft coming timing.

While the authors have given their female characters plenty to work with, the two male characters, Hannah’s nephew, Caleb Thorpe, played by Jim Ballard, and Sheriff Joe Sutter (Nate Promkul) are not as dimensional.

The talented Ballard makes the best of down-on-his-luck Caleb, who isn’t given many redeeming qualities. He’s lived in the shadow of Hannah’s son, Eli, who went missing in action in Vietnam. Married to Shelby, the former foreman of the town’s quarry, is bitter and frustrated about everything. Ballard’s solid baritone soars with the chain-gang rhythm of “Digging Stone” – “A man is more than blood and bone when he’s shoulder to shoulder digging stone.”

Jim Ballard as Caleb Thorpe sings “Digging Stone” in “The Spitfire Grill” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. (Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

Sheriff Joe is a more difficult character to dig into. Promkul certainly tries but the swiftness in which the writers have the character fall head over heels for the stranger in town, wanting to settle down and create a family, has too little time to seem realistic in its development. The character seems to only serve as a vehicle to allow for Percy’s big reveal.

Tom Wahl drifts in and out as The Visitor and finds a way for his character to speak volumes without uttering a word.

Kudos to the five-piece band, led by Nick Guerrero, with Alvaro Bermudez on guitar/mandolin, Tatiana Semichastnoval playing accordion, Tony Seepersad, violin, and Marcel Krasner on cello, whose musical artistry brought out the best in the score.

As a side note, the band was hidden only somewhat behind a black curtain stage left, creating a distraction with the conductor’s light just visible enough to pull focus and interrupt immersion into the story. Since the music is so integral, perhaps a better choice would have been to have the small band of players visible.

Tom Wahl as The Visitor and Tom Wahl and Emily Van Vliet Perea in
a scene from “The Spitfire Grill” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. (Photo by Alberto Romeu, courtesy of Actors’ Playhouse)

Eric Nelson’s lighting, using clouds that changed colors on a large backdrop projection, created mood changes and helped signal passages of time. Reidar Sorensen’s sound design was crystal clear, and Ellis Tillman’s costumes – from Hannah’s coveralls to Effy’s blue postal sweater with logo and matching logo bag added authenticity.

With “The Spitfire Grill,” Arisco delivered on his promise of a heartfelt love letter, guiding the production with sensitivity and an eye for the musical’s subtle nuances.

While the sugar coating may be too thick for some tastes, “The Spitfire Grill” takes you a million miles away from Miami and from all of the noise of the constant news cycle. And, right now, that’s as satisfying as apple pie.

WHAT:  “The Spitfire Grill”

WHERE:  Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables

WHEN:  8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 2.

COST:  $45, $55, $65, $75, 80, $85, and $100.

INFORMATION: 305-444-9293 or actorsplayhouse.org

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