The Spitfire Grill Sizzles in Edinburgh

An elite group of graduate students from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama have been serving up a delicious musical theatre menu at the Edinburgh Fringe for the past three weeks with Sally Rapier's atmospheric and tightly knit UK premiere production of the Off-Broadway musical The Spitfire Grill.

Based upon a film by Lee David Zlotoff, The Spitfire Grill was adapted for the musical stage by James Valc and Fred Alley and was honoured with the prestigious Richard Rodgers Production Award prior to a successful run at New York's Playwrights Horizons in 2001. It tells the story of rough diamond ex-convict Percy, who turns up one cold winter night while on parole to take up a job at the Spitfire Grill in the tiny Wisconsin town of Gilead. Initially resented by the townsfolk, she gradually earns the trust and affection of the diner's ageing owner, Hannah, and fellow worker, Shelby. By the time winter has turned to spring, the lives of the three women begin to change forever.

From the first notes of Percy's opening song, "Ring Around The Moon", right through to the uplifting end of the show, James Valc's score is a pure delight, combining the traditional sounds of American folk music with strong musical theatre melodies that reach right into the heart of the characters. And Valc and Alley's Book has a perfect blend of warmth, subtlety and raw emotion, drawing the audience into the cathartic experience of healing shared by the show's three central characters.

Both dramatically and vocally, the entire RSAMD's talented young cast give faultless performances worthy of West End or Broadway stage venues. In particular, Nicole Rowley gives the character of Percy a credible raw edge as well as the hint of pathos needed to make the audience care - and her vocals are quite thrilling. Rosemary Amoani is totally believable as the ageing Hannah and Stephanie Callow perfectly captures the rustic warmth of Shelby whilst delivering a beautiful vocal performance, especially in "When Hope Goes", the stand-out song in what is a stand-out score.

The RSAMD has established a stellar reputation in recent years at the Fringe and this production maintains and possibly even surpasses the Academy's own high standards. A FIVE STAR show without question.