The Spitfire Grill at Western Reserve Playhouse

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The Spitfire Grill is an American folk musical with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley. Based on the 1996 film of the same name by Lee David Zlotoff, this off-Broadway production had a short run of just one-month, but left a lasting impact on audiences who continue to seek out this beautiful story. We are thrilled to be producing this work, with direction by Daniel Hunsicker and musical direction by Patrick Wickliffe.

Percy Talbot (played by Emma Figge) is a feisty parolee who follows her dreams to small-town Wisconsin, where she meets Hannah Ferguson (Bernadette Hisey), the tough-skinned no-nonsense owner of The Spitfire Grill. The grill is for sale, but with no bidders, Percy convinces Hannah to raffle it off; and the best essay on why you want the grill wins. Entries pour in from local townsfolk with more amazing stories to tell, and if they look closely enough, they may just find that the end of one thing is just the beginning of something new.

We’re thrilled to see several folks returning to the WRP stage from our 2022 season. Emma Figge (last seen in Forbidden Broadway as the tap-dancing parody of Sutton Foster), and Bernadette Hisey as Hannah Ferguson (also featured in Forbidden Broadway, Broadway Christmas Carol, and Hay Fever). August Scarpelli, our Education Director and House Manager also joins this cast as The Visitor. Other past WRP performers include Emily Donaldson as Effie Krayneck, who was last seen on our stage in the 1999 production of My Fair Lady, Tara Corkery as Shelby who was featured in the 2022 CaBARet series, and Kevin Michael Meyers as Caleb, who last featured in Bridges of Madison County. We are beyond thrilled to welcome Frank Lucas to our stage for the very first time as Joe.

Director – Daniel Hunsicker * Musical Director – Patrick Wickliffe * Stage Manager – Tiffany Bird * Assistant Stage Manager - Jenna Baker * Costume Design - John Catlos * Light Design - Daniel Hunsicker

Authors

• Fred Alley
• James Valcq