Review: Make a Reservation at THE SPITFIRE GRILL

The musical “The Spitfire Grill” – with book and music by James Valcq and lyrics by the late Fred Alley, who also co-wrote the book – perfectly captures the small-town ethos of its rural Gilead, Wisconsin, setting.

The Umbrella Stage Company has assembled a cast of some of the most gifted actors in greater Boston under the well paced direction of Ilyse Robbins, and added a pitch-perfect pit band and first-rate design and technical elements, to create a production of the show at Umbrella Arts in Concord through May 18 that is nothing less than an embarrassment of riches.

Based on the 1996 feature film of the same name by Lee David Zlotoff, the show, which was produced off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons in 2001, follows the journey of Percy, a young woman recently paroled and putting one foot in front of the other to rebuild her life and reestablish her sense of worth after it was rocked by personal hardships, violence, and imprisonment. Seeking peace in a small rural town, she finds much more in her new home. She brings much to it as well.

Percy (Liza Giagrande) is a West Virginia native whose southern accent makes her stand out among the residents of the tightly knit community – including the first two she meets, well-meaning Sheriff Joe Sutter (Sean Donnelly), assigned as her parole officer, and hardened grill owner Hannah Ferguson (Kerry A. Dowling), her new employer.

Giagrande inspiringly captures Percy’s climb back from the lowest point in her life to a new beginning. She never lets emotion get in the way of what has to be done, however, and immediately throws herself into clearing tables, sweeping the floor, and even manning the grill during a breakfast rush that an injured Hannah has to sit out. She’s terrific on songs that range from the wistful “A Ring around the Moon” to the comedic “Coffee Cups and Gossip” and “Into the Frying Pan.”

In her Umbrella Stage Company debut, the estimable Dowling is a hard-hearted Hannah, for sure, and so much more. Years of long shifts at her grill have left her with a bad hip and an off-putting attitude. Hannah has a lot on her mind, much of it rooted in loneliness and remorse, and she is always thinking. Dowling is not only a terrific actor, she also knows her way around a song, as anyone who has seen her over the years on Boston stages – most recently in “A Man of No Importance” at SpeakEasy Stage – can attest. Her deeply felt takes on “Forgotten Lullaby” and “Way Back Home” provide the show two of its most heart-tugging moments.

While those songs – under music director Jack Cline and winningly played by James Haupt on piano and conducting, with Brooks Clarke and Robert Draper on guitar and mandolin, accordionist Erica Risti, Paul Alperin on cello, and Ellie Monaco on violin – and others advance the plot, the show is not sung-through, making director Robbins’ decision to take a stop-and-sing approach with the songs not always effective. Nonetheless, Robbins’ direction does elicit fine performances from the cast.

Joining Giagrande, Dowling, and Donnelly – who captures his character’s restlessness on act one’s “This Wide Woods” – are the always-worth-watching Anthony Pires, Jr., as Hannah’s stand-up nephew Caleb Thorpe and the warmly appealing Shonna McEachern as his wife, Shelby Thorpe, an ascendant chef with short-order skills to spare. The pair serve up some memorable musical moments, too, with McEachern moving on “When Hope Goes,” a song about Hannah and the town’s past when heroes went off to war and didn’t come back. And while this score was written over 30 years ago, “Digging Stone,” a song about the employment challenges facing even the hardest-working men, is as resonant today as ever, especially when powerfully performed as it is by Pires.

As meddlesome postmistress Effy Krayneck, Catherine Lee Christie adds broad humor to the mix and is deliciously funny on act one’s “Something’s Cooking at the Spitfire Grill.” Christian Mancinas-Garcia also does fine work in the more nuanced role of a woods-dwelling visitor with a deep family connection to someone in the town.

The production isn’t only performed beautifully, it also looks good thanks to scenic designer Janie E. Howland’s rough-hewn, two-tier set that makes clear that this grill has been built to last. Kelly Baker’s worn-in costumes and Karen Perlow’s mood-setting lighting also contribute much.