Pacific Theatre launches its 2012-2013 season with a taste of home in Midnight Theatre Collective’s guest production of The Spitfire Grill, a soaring bluegrass musical with music and lyrics by James Valcq, with lyrics and book by Fred Alley.
With only a photo of some autumnal trees to guide her, Percy chooses the sleepy mountain town of Gilead to start her life over after being released from prison. The downside to starting over in a town just large enough to hold one diner? Well, when everyone knows everything about you it can make the whole “fresh start” idea a little trickier.
It may seem like the town of Gilead, settled in the mountains of Wisconsin, is a lifetime away from from your average Vancouverite, but we have our own mountains with their own little communities. How often, while driving through the Rockies, do we gaze out and wonder at the lives of these tiny towns? In The Spitfire Grill, we see what happens when someone actually takes that step into a simpler life.
Simplicity, in fact, seems to be the watchword of this tale: musical director Steven Greenfield reflects that The Spitfire Grill “has a simplicity we don’t often experience in musical theatre. And a kick-ass country bluegrass score.” Fellow actor/musician Gordon Roberts echoes the sentiment calling it “a beautiful story with gorgeous music perfectly suited for an intimate space with actor/musicians doing the story telling.”
“The Spitfire Grill is one of the most heartfelt musicals of recent years, its homespun charms as inviting as a warm winter blanket.” – Talkin’ Broadway
The Spitfire Grill is produced by The Midnight Theatre Collective, a team of self-producing artists. Direction is provided by Kerry van der Griend (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and musical direction by Steven Greenfield. The multi-talented cast of actor/musicians is made up of Damon Calderwood (Christmas on the Air), Steven Greenfield, Julie McIsaac, Caitriona Murphy, Barbara Pollard, Sarah May Redmond, and Gordon Roberts.
The Spitfire Grill
Dates: September 21 to October 27; Wednesday to Saturdays, 8 pm; Saturday matinées, 2 pm
Venue: Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue (at Hemlock Street), Vancouver
Tickets: $17.99-$29.99 (not including HST); available online or by phoning 604.731.5518
