Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy

Fresh serving of ‘Spitfire Grill’ in Hamilton County

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By John Lyle Belden

A balm for hard times, Carmel Community Players returns us to Gilead, Wis., with a new production of “The Spitfire Grill” at The Switch Theatre in Fishers.

Based on the 1996 film, this musical by old friends Fred Alley and James Valcq premiered Off-Broadway in 2001 and has seen many community stagings, including at Westfield in 2023. However, according to licensing agent Concord Theatricals, the show is “newly revised in 2024.” A quick Google didn’t yield details; it appears to us that any changes are subtle, as this is still an uplifting story of redemption – personal and community-wide – with a charm more genuine than the typical “Hallmark” movie romance.

Set around 1990, Percy (Breanna Helms), a young woman released on parole, arrives in this small forest town which she saw featured in an old travel magazine. Though peaceful and located on a trout stream, Gilead is dying as the nearby quarry closed, a major highway bypassed the town, and the celebrated foliage was diminished by logging. Sheriff Joe Sutter (Zach Hoover), the lone lawman and thus Percy’s parole officer, dreams of selling the plot of land he’ll inherit and taking the next bus out. Hannah Ferguson (Susan Boilek Smith) runs the Spitfire Grill, which she has had on the market for 14 years since her husband died.

The Grill is also the only boarding house, and job, for Percy, who takes on serving duties, then is cast almost literally “into the fire” with cooking when Hannah is injured in a fall. We also meet Hannah’s nephew Caleb Thorpe (John Whitaker), who was a foreman at the quarry and is not doing much better in local real estate; his wife, Shelby (Sarah Marone-Sowers), the one thing he feels control over, who he grudgingly allows to help Percy at the Grill; and Effy Krayneck (Christine Sanserino), proprietor of the local combination general store and Post Office, as well as voracious town gossip.

In addition, every night, Hannah leaves out a fresh loaf of bread for a mysterious visitor (Brandon Wentz).

The plot turns on a scheme, introduced by Percy and embraced by Shelby and Hannah, to give the Spitfire Grill to a worthy new owner in a mail-in raffle (Sheriff Joe sings that it’s legal, so don’t come at us with any contrary Wisconsin law). What this does for the town and its residents is fairly predictable, but really nice to watch play out – with only a couple of dramatic bumps on the way.

Under the expert direction of Kathleen Clarke Horrigan, Helms bravely tests the limits of her singing voice while perfectly portraying both Percy’s ex-con attitude and the tenderness she becomes comfortable to reveal. Hoover handsomely presents the Mayberry-esque demeanor appropriate to Sheriff Joe. Marone-Sowers gently portrays good-natured Shelby’s personal growth arc complementary to Percy’s. Whitaker keeps Caleb more stressed than sinister. Sanserino makes Effy a pill, but not entirely unlikable as she acts not out of spite, but her own odd way of striving to belong. Wentz’s mute role speaks volumes.

Smith, a steady stage veteran, is excellent as Hannah in all her maternal aspects. Considering she was Effy in the Westfield production makes an interesting contrast and tribute to her skill that she nailed both roles.

The simple stage set by Jonas Hildreth is enhanced by backstage projections designed by Cassidy Lane, adding atmosphere to the opening number and awe to Percy’s second-act number, “Shine.”

Behold CCP’s “colors of paradise” at The Switch Theatre in Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 126th Street, Fishers. Performances of “The Spitfire Grill” are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 5-8. Get tickets at carmelplayers.org.

Belfry sets a place for you

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By John Lyle Belden

What’s the most important room in the house?

You might answer the kitchen, as that’s where the food is; or the living room, as that’s where the TV is; or, of course, the bathroom for obvious reasons. But the play “The Dining Room,” a comedy by A. R. Gurney, makes a case for this often-overlooked (if you even have it) space that was a stoic witness to change for middle-class America through the 20th century.

In the Belfry Theatre production, occupying the Switch Theatre in Fishers through Jan. 30, seven actors show us 18 scenes through 40 years (1939-79) with one nice but not quite antique table and set of chairs. Though it finally goes on the market in the era of Disco, this house is mostly home to members of a single family. They wouldn’t consider themselves wealthy but are well-off enough to have at least a cook and maid, at least in the early decades.

The fourth wall (French doors, we are told) becomes our window into their lives, as even in the stuffy past, there are youngsters looking towards the new while elders cling to the best of what has been. As the scenes bounce back and forth through the years, parents become grandparents, children become parents, and there’s always something we really shouldn’t talk about at the table.

The ensemble of Mia Gordon, Jennifer J. Kaufmann, Tim Long, Jeff Maess, Tom Riddle, Addie Taylor, and Debbie Underwood splendidly take on what must be a fun acting exercise, inhabiting the various ages and characters – only one is an actual youth, so “child” roles take on extra charm as the older hands truly commit. Under the direction of Diane W. Wilson, the scenes flow easily into each other, sometimes having a person or two from one era sharing the space with oncoming folks from another, making the room, in a way, timeless.

Though real tensions and drama sometimes pop up, this play is mainly a gentle comedy, the kind of feel-good family portrait that we can use about now. Even if we aren’t mid-century WASPs, we can feel a sting of familiarity in dealing with relatives in changing times. And it’s good to find something to laugh about, or at least knowingly smile, in it all.

Find the venue at Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 E. 126th St., Suite D (note there is street construction in the area). Find info and tickets at www.thebelfrytheatre.com.