In the Bible, Gilead was a place of refuge
for Jacob when he struggled with the angel, for the children
of Israel when they fought the Philistines and for King David
during his son Absolam’s rebellion. As one spiritual reads, "There
is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole."
In Lee David Zlotoff’s 1996 film "The Spitfire Grill,"
Gilead is a small, sleepy town in Maine where a young woman named
Percy Talbott, recently released from prison, sets up a new life,
and in the process, changes the lives of the town’s inhabitants.
The movie, which starred Ellen Burstyn as Hannah, owner of the
Spitfire Grill, was called sappy and manipulative by some, uplifting
and poetic by others. In fact, "Spitfire Grill" was
originally commissioned by Gregory Productions with backing from
the Sacred Heart League, a Roman Catholic organization that approached
writer-director Zlotoff, a Jew, about his possible interest in
collaborating on a film.
Several years later, Fred Alley (book and lyrics) and James Valcq
(book and music) collaborated to turn the film into a musical,
which opened at Playwright’s Horizons in the fall of 2001.
The most striking feature of The Gallery Players staging of "Spitfire
Grill," through Jan. 30, is M.R. Goodley’s brilliant direction.
Goodley, who seems to lean towards edgy musicals (her Gallery
Players credits include "Floyd Collins" and "Assassins"),
has a real flair for moving people around the stage meaningfully
and making seamless transitions from dialogue to song. She also
manages to take choppy scripts and make them float as smoothly
as a sailboat in a gentle breeze.
But the second-most salient feature of "Spitfire Grill"
is the questions it provokes: What in the world possessed Valcq
and Alley when they converted the film into a musical? How did
they think they could translate those breathtaking long shots
of the countryside and those heart-wrenching close-ups of anguished
faces in a stage production? Why did they believe mediocre music
could make up for the loss of Zlotoff’s exquisite dialogue?
The stage play changes some important aspects of the plot (it
even moves the story from Maine to Wisconsin) – in every case
for the worse. While the film holds together and makes perfect
sense, the play leaves puzzling questions at the end and loses
much of the basic theme of redemption that is so evident in the
film.
Certainly the score does not contribute greatly to the action.
In fact, this reviewer often wished the singing would soon be
over so the performers could get back to the business of telling
the story. As for the music itself, it has a pleasing, folksy
quality – sort of like Joni Mitchell on a not terribly inspired
day – but it’s nothing anyone will be whistling in his shower.
Nevertheless, the Gallery Players has once again done a top-notch
job producing a mediocre work. Timothy J. Amrhein’s set and Kathleen
Leary’s costumes movingly capture the cold, barren landscape
of Gilead, Wis. and the gentle poverty of its inhabitants. The
cast is – without exception – outstanding.
Bettina Sheppard’s performance as Hannah Ferguson, the crusty
old lady who owns the Spitfire Grill and takes in Percy (the
excellent Libby Winters), is all the more astonishing considering
that she came in to replace another actor one week before opening
night.
Tina Marie Casamento, who plays Shelby Thorpe, a cohort at the
grill, shows a real understanding of what it means to be a small-town
woman. Jayne Maynard (who comes from Wisconsin and doubled as
a dialect coach) adds the perfect touch of humor as the busybody
postmistress Effy Krayneck. She also has the best singing voice
in the show.
Paul Martin Kovic, who plays Sheriff Joe Sutter, the male love
interest, and Eric Hanson, who plays Caleb Thorpe, Hannah’s nephew,
have the difficult task of playing men in a show with a feminist
bent. They do so with sensitivity and spunk.
Patrick Toon, as the visitor, is eloquent without words.
It’s doubtful that many people will leave this show wiping their
eyes, as many moviegoers apparently did. The format and the script
just don’t allow for it. But the Gallery Players’ production
is both entertaining and engrossing.
The Gallery Players’ production of "The Spitfire Grill"
runs through Jan. 30, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and
Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets are $15, $12 seniors and children under
12. The Gallery Players theater is located at 199 14th Street
between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope. For reservations,
call (718) 595-0547.
