By CARRIE NEAL
A Seat on the Aisle
A stranger with a mysterious past comes to a small town and shakes things up: it’s a familiar storytelling device because it’s such an effective hook, and The Spitfire Grill is no exception.
Based on the 1996 independent film, the musical tells the story of Percy Talbott (Chrissy Crawley), a young drifter who settles in Gilead, Wis. She begins working at the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah Ferguson (Georgeanna Teipen) and is soon befriended by coworker Shelby Thorpe (Katelyn Maudlin). The small cast is rounded out by Shelby’s husband Caleb (Daniel Draves), town gossip Effy Krayneck (Susan Smith), Sheriff Joe Sutter (Scott Fleshood), and The Visitor (Tom Riddle).
This is a simply told story of redemption that’s all about the music, most of it rendered in a folk/bluegrass style. Powerhouse singers are needed, and Main Street Productions delivers. The cast is led by Chrissy Crawley as Percy Talbott, who simply could not have a more perfect voice for the task at hand. Her voice is yearning, evocative, and true, everything we want it to be. Katelyn Maudlin as Shelby Thorpe also contributes gorgeous vocals with a sweet and pure tone. When the two of them are singing harmonies or a trio with Georgeanna Teipen as Hannah Ferguson, the audience is transported. Special mention must be made of Teipen’s “Way Back Home” and of Scott Fleshood’s “Forest for the Trees,” but each and every vocalist in this production is superb.
(From left) Katelyn Maudlin as Shelby Thorpe, Georgeanna Teipen as Hannah Ferguson, and Chrissy Crawley as Percy Talbott in The Spitfire Grill, on stage now at Basile Westfield Playhouse. (Photo by Rob Slaven / Indy Ghost Light Photography)
We’re given rock-solid performances from veteran actors Susan Smith as Effy Krayneck, Daniel Draves as Caleb Thorpe, and Georgeanna Teipen as Hannah Ferguson, but the acting is not as flawless across the board as the vocals. This is a show where not much happens, so there should be a good deal of active listening when one actor is singing a song and another is just sitting with them, which didn’t always happen. Some strange blocking choices also served to erode the overall feel of excellence; when one or two or three characters are doing beautiful work singing their songs, we don’t want to see other characters entering in preparation for their next scene. This happened several times and broke the hard-won magic of the moment.
This was my first visit to the recently constructed Basile Westfield Playhouse, and it would seem remiss not to mention the beauty of the space and how fortunate Main Street Productions is to have it. The set, which mostly consists of the Spitfire Grill restaurant itself, is beautifully constructed of various woods and makes great use of the space. The lighting is at its best when multicolored lights are used for rainbow and sunrise effects, but there are a few times when actors were doing scene work far downstage and their faces were partially obscured/poorly lit.
This musical should be better known than it is, and director Brenna Whitaker has created a heartfelt, honest production that deserves to be seen.
The Spitfire Grill runs at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, presented by Main Street Productions, through April 23. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may be purchased at WestfieldPlayhouse.org.
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