The Salem Community Theatre and Cultural Center open a new musical, The Spitfire Grill, Friday night. The show will run for the weekends of September 11th-13th and 18th-20th. The play is directed by director/choreographer Matt Helton.
Helton told WJBD-WSIQ that The Spitfire Grill was chosen as a good fit after the originally planned musical, Sister Act, turned out not to be currently viable.
“I started racking my brain to think about what kind of show would be a great fit for our community and the people on stage, and we settled on Spitfire,” Helton said. “We were lucky to have more people than are actually normally cast in this show, so I was able to develop an ensemble which doesn’t exist (in the original script). You’re going to get to see a unique production of this show that’s never been done before.”
Recently released from prison, Percy Talbott (played by Lauren Berry) arrives in the struggling town of Gilead, Wisconsin, searching for a fresh start. When she begins working at the Spitfire Grill, her presence slowly brings buried hopes, secrets, and wounds to the surface. As the townspeople confront their pasts and one another, they discover that redemption, forgiveness, and a new beginning may be possible after all.
Berry says that playing the role of Percy has been a challenging and rewarding experience.
“I have found a lot of commonalities with my character and her emotional arc, and just relating to the feelings of trauma, emotion, grief and loss. That’s something we can all relate with.”
Dottie Register, who plays the role of the grill’s owner, Hannah Ferguson, says the show contains plenty of both comedic and dramatic moments.
“I love the fact that I have a lot of the comedic lines, which I prefer to do, but most of the time, it’s very emotional. You bring your tissues, and you bring your giggle box, you bring both things.”
Performances are on Friday and Saturday nights, September 11th and 12th and September 18th and 19th, with matinees on Sunday, September 13th and 20th at three pm. Adult tickets are $12 and students $8. You may buy tickets at Salem City Hall, by calling the Salem Theatre Office, or online at salemiltheater.org. The season sponsor is the Salem Tourism Commission. ‘The Spitfire Grill’ is sponsored by Security Alarm.
Full cast list:
Percy Talbott – Lauren Berry
Hannah Ferguson – Dottie Register
Shelby Thorpe – Raquel Bliffen
Caleb Thorpe – Nathan Young
Sheriff Joe Sutter – Zach Torbek
Effy Krayneck – Susan Gunkle
The Visitor – Austin Williams
Ensemble – Brenda Coop, Carol Loughary, Joshua Starks, and Emma Turner
Crew members include:
Director/Choreographer – Matt Helton
Assistant Director – Kathie Garren
Music Director – Matt Helton
Conductor – Andrew Steininger
Producer – Meredith Fyke
Lighting Design – KJ Engel
Sound Design – Matt Bowers
Set Design and Construction – Kathie Garren, David Garren, Donovan Garren
Technicians – Donovan Garren, Matt Bowers
