The Spitfire Grill is open at The Barn in the Marin Art & Garden Center, courtesy of the Ross Valley Players. The show, an intimate musical by James Valcq (music and book) and Fred Alley (lyrics) and based on the 1996 movie, runs through Feb. 23.
Newly freed jailbird Percy (Kyra Lynn Kozlenko) lands in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. The Spitfire’s owner, Hannah (Kelly Ground), takes her in. Hannah has been trying to sell the diner for a decade. Though the townsfolk are initially suspicious, Percy, Hannah and helper Shelby (Julianne Bretan) devise a plan to raffle off the diner, unintentionally saving the town.
Helping/hindering the plan are town gossip Effy (Jane Harrington), Sheriff Joe (Kyle Stoner), Hannah’s nephew Caleb (Brad Parks) and the Visitor (Bradley Markwick). The plot may seem simple, but what’s important are the concepts of connection, hope, compassion and forgiveness.
There are good performances here. Ground’s Hannah has an energy that never wavers, and Bretan’s Shelby is outstanding. Her choices are so in tune with the character and the flow of the play that every time she’s onstage the scene benefits. Bretan’s chemistry with Kozlenko is phenomenal. Director Jay Manley is to be commended for his casting choices.
Sadly, RVP has chosen not to mic the actors, even though there’s a very good three-piece band onstage under the musical direction of Nick Brown. This wasn’t an issue for those with stronger voices, but it was evident some actors were not trained to sing over music sans amplification. It was hard to hear Kozlenko and even harder to hear Stoner. The staging didn’t help. Having the actors on the extremes of the stage doesn’t work if the actors aren’t projecting.
The set by Ron Kremetz is a piece of art, maybe a bit too beautiful for a diner in a dying town. As for Michele Samuels’ lights, it was hard to tell if the set or the equipment limited them. For a show with a song titled “Shine,” the lights should do more than just illuminate.
Overall, this is a good play. However, there are more important things here. There was no way to know how needed connection and hope would be when Spitfire first opened in New York four days before 9/11.
Similarly, it seems prescient of RVP to choose this play now, when expressions of compassion and empathy have become controversial.
‘The Spitfire Grill’ runs through Feb. 23 at the Barn Theatre in the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Thursday through Saturday, 7:30pm; Sun., 2pm. $29–$40. 415.456.9555. rossvalleyplayers.com.
