1996 | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Witness the quiet beauty inside The Umbrella Stage Company’s stirring ‘The Spitfire Grill’

From Liza Giangrande’s first few haunting verses sung as Percy as her eyes brim with tears, it is easy to see that The Spitfire Grill is going to be something special.

Liza Giangrande as Percy. Photo by Jim Sabitus

According to the Bible, Gilead is a mountainous region east of the Jordan River and considered a place of asylum and refuge. After spending five years in prison, Percy places her hopes in the remote and mysterious town of Gilead, Wisconsin, but its residents find it a ghost town suited only as a place for leaving. However, Gilead may still have a few surprises in store.

Based on the 1996 film by Lee David Zlotoff, warmly directed by Ilyse Robbins, and with haunting music direction by Jack Cline, The Spitfire Grill musical continues live and in person at Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 18. This production is approximately two hours with one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Kerry A. Dowling* as Hannah, Sean Donnelly as Joe and Liza Giangrande as Percy. Photo by Jim Sabitus

Blending acoustic and fiddle-infused melodies from an intimate band conducted by James Haupt, The Spitfire Grill boasts a wide range of driving folk rhythms such as Shoot the Moon, swift catchy melodies such as Out of the Frying Pan and luminous harmonies in Colors of Paradise.

Costumer Kelly Baker captures a deep woods ambiance in earth tones and layered clothing, denim, flannels and hiking boots. Karen Perlow’s haunting and revelatory lighting brings stirring character to enigmatic Gilead. Prison bar shadows, a gleaming moon, twilight skies, soft glowing lanterns and prism shaped forest patterns illuminate Janie E. Howland’s dual level rustic wooden Spitfire Grill diner complete with a cozy kitchen and scattered appliances, living room, dining space and a faded staircase leading up to the bedrooms. This set has worn character detailed in its red faded Spitfire Grill sign.

Liza Giangrande as Percy, Christie Lee as Effy, and Kerry A. Dowling* as Hannah. *Indicates a member of Actors Equity Association. Photo by Jim Sabitus

Featuring a powerful cast, The Spitfire Grill is a well paced musical that exudes a quiet beauty focusing on ordinary people with haunting regrets longing for a new start. Everyone knows everyone which is quite advantageous for Catherine Lee Christie as nosy town gossip Effy who is always starved for news as demonstrated in Somethings Cooking. Though Christie’s Effy could seem malicious, her incorrigible curiosity and humorous know-it-all demeanor seems to stem from boredom imagining Gilead as an exciting town.

Liza Giangrande as Percy, Kerry A. Dowling* as Hannah, and Shonna McEachern* as Shelby. *Indicates a member of Actors Equity Association. Photo by Jim Sabitus

Kerry A. Dowling depicts practical and business minded Spitfire Grill owner Hannah who hires Percy to tend to the kitchen. Course, frank yet introverted, Hannah has a secret from her past she has kept for years. Hannah has been struggling to sell The Spitfire Grill for a decade, but Percy may have come up with a new way to lure buyers Hannah’s way. Dowling’s Hannah and Giagrande establish a genuine rapport while they both quietly carry burdens from their past.

A charismatic actress with a dynamite vocal range, Liza Giangrande is brilliant as relentlessly hopeful Percy who is determined to reestablish herself as demonstrated in the sneakily and humorously frazzled number Out of the Frying Pan, emphasized with some impressive vocal gymnastics. However, Giangrande is simply riveting for the revelatory number Sunrise/Shine.

Shonna McEachern* as Shelby, Liza Giangrande as Percy, and Kerry A. Dowling* as Hannah. *Indicates a member of Actors Equity Association. Photo by Jim Sabitus

Giangrande develops a sweet rapport with Shonna McEachern as Shelby delivering soaring harmony for Colors of Paradise. McEachern has a lovely vocal range and offers a stirring rendition of Wildbird. Giangrande’s Percy is under Sean Donnelly’s parole supervision as Sheriff Joe Sutter who has his own dreams beyond the wide woods of Gilead.

Anthony Pires, Jr. delves into the role of discouraged and traditional Caleb who feels aimless and frustrated with his life longing to get a foothold as demonstrated in a potent rendition of Digging Stone while Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia is memorable as The Visitor.

Shonna McEachern* as Shelby, Liza Giangrande as Percy and Anthony Pires, Jr. as Caleb. Photo by Jim Sabitus

The Spitfire Grill tackles loneliness and isolation, but also has its share of memorably heartwarming, frank and comical moments. Steeped in quiet beauty, it is an uplifting musical that captures hope and meaning while shedding light in the darkest of places.

The Spitfire Grill musical continues live and in person at Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, Massachusetts through Sunday, May 18. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Fueled by a mesmerizing soundtrack, witness The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company’s quietly stirring ‘The Band’s Visit’

Posted on December 1, 2023 by The Sleepless Critic

Imagine longing for a phone call from a loved one or the act of just mustering up enough courage to speak to a girl. Imagine welcoming a group of strangers to your table and into your private home for the night because they are in need of a place to stay. Think about that kind of selflessness and hospitality freely given without a second thought. These seemingly small acts of kindness make a big impact in The Band’s Visit.

Cast of The Band’s Visit; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Directed warmly by Paul Daigneault with mesmerizing music direction by Jose Delgado, The Huntington with SpeakEasy Stage Company presents The Band’s Visit by Itamar Moses through December 17. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

The Band’s Visit made its Broadway debut in 2017 with Tony Shaloub as Tewfiq and went on to win multiple Tony Awards. Much of this acclaimed show hinges on its eclectic and spellbinding music soundtrack which ties the band and the locals together, particularly essential when they are feeling misunderstood. This multi-talented onstage band certainly can jam especially for the numbers Soraya and Haj-Butras and receives some additional hidden accompaniment which is delightedly revealed in an unexpected way.

Set in 1996 in a small Israeli town located in the middle of the Negrev Desert where nothing unusual ever seems to happen, the townsfolk are dazzled by a traveling and stranded Egyptian band wearing distinguished powder blue uniforms by Miranda Kau Giurleu. The Band’s Visit is an unconventional and unassuming musical that quietly and most assuredly will open hearts and minds to the little things in life that are sometimes overlooked.

The Band’s Visit unveils heartache and hope in such a remote land that the locals may sometimes feel forgotten. Many aspects of Jimmy Stubbs and Wilson Chin’s nostalgic scenic design fondly rewinds the clock using iconic pieces of nostalgia while also evoking the isolated nature of the town which includes a towering lamp post, a phone booth richly and authentically detailed with fingerprints and grime on its plastic cover, and a deserted blue street with yellow stripes. One of the most memorable scenes recreates a retro roller skating rink equipped with multicolored lights, disco ball and DJ.

Jennifer Apple, Brian Thomas Abraham; Photo by T Charles Erickson

This production delivers many surprises and this intriguing cast is no exception. Brian Thomas Abraham wonderfully portrays modest orchestra leader Tewfiq. Abraham’s reserved Tewfiq expresses his art with charisma, but offstage, he is a man of few words. Guarded and mysterious, Abraham shares fascinating chemistry with Jennifer Apple, a natural as feisty divorcee Dina especially for the beguiling numbers Omar Sharif and Something Different. Stunning in a gorgeous red flowing burgundy frock, Apple captures Dina’s resilience and yearning for happiness beyond what this small town can offer but something is holding her back. Apple’s bright smile and intensity is particularly notable in a scene stealing incident slicing watermelon in It is What it Is.

Marianna Bassham, Andrew Mayer, Robert Saoud, James Rana, Jared Troilo; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Mariana Bassham, who has a history of impactful roles including a starring role in SpeakEasy Stage’s People Places and Things from 2022, is impressive alongside Jared Troilo as Iris, Itzik’s long suffering and resentful wife. Even in an uplifting scene involving household instruments, Bassham’s vacant expression and fatigue is the picture of indifference and discontented heartache as she stares into the abyss of a life unfulfilled. Troilo’s Itzik is warm and helplessly optimistic despite his family’s circumstances. Troilo has a powerful voice which is understated for this particular performance for a quietly tender Itzik’s Lullaby.

Noah Kieserman, Mac Ritchey, Jared Troilo; Photo by T Charles Erickson

The Band’s Visit also offers a mix of lighthearted comedic moments. Jesse Garlick shines as awkward and bewildered Papi for the zany number Papi Hears the Ocean as Josephine Moshiri Elwood as self effacing Julia looks on. Kareem Elsamadicy is much more than meets the eye as Haled in the smooth and lovely rendition of Haled’s Song about Love. Emily Qualmann as Anna and Fady Demian as Zelgar make an entertaining pair of partiers and Noah Kieserman delivers gorgeous vocals with the cast for the enthralling number, Answer Me.

Directed warmly by Paul Daigneault with mesmerizing music direction by Jose Delgado, The Huntington with SpeakEasy Stage presents The Band’s Visit by Itamar Moses through December 17. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.