The Spitfire Grill at Refuge Theatre Project at Windy City Cafe

The musical by James Valcq and Fred Alley, which premiered off-Broadway in 2001 in a production by Playwrights Horizons, is set in a northern Wisconsin diner. THE SPITFIRE GRILL will be performed environmentally and acoustically in the Windy City Café, a breakfast restaurant at 1062 W. Chicago Avenue in the West Town neighborhood, just around the corner from Chicago Dramatists. Just 40 seats will be available for each performance.

The story, based on the 1996 film of the same name that starred Ellen Burstyn and Marcia Gay Harden, concerns Percy, a feisty parolee recently released from prison who relocates to the fictional small town of Gilead, Wisconsin after seeing pictures of it in an old travel book. With the help of Gilead’s sheriff Joe, she gets a job at Hannah's Spitfire Grill. As she becomes involved with Hannah, Hannah’s family and others in the town, Percy soon learns that she is not the only person in Gilead who needs a second chance in life. The Spitfire Grill itself needs a second chance as well. It has been for sale for ten years, but there have been no takers for it - the only eatery in the depressed town. Percy suggests to Hannah that she raffle it off. Entry fees are one hundred dollars and the best essay on why you want the grill wins.