Auburn’s cast from the past is trying something different at last.
The Summer Alumni Theatre Company – comprised of actors, actresses and artists who graduated from Auburn-area high schools – has come together to produce a heartfelt musical rarely staged locally.
“The Spitfire Grill” is an American heart-and-soul play that deals with deep themes of redemption, hatred, compassion, independence, the economic problems of small towns, the plight of Vietnam War veterans and, to some extent, female empowerment.
The story is in stark contrast to the theater group’s first two successful productions – the lighter and family-spiced “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and the zany and somewhat dark sci-fi spoof, “Little Shop of Horrors.”
When SATC director Paul Fouhy saw the stronger film version and read the powerful script, he decided to bring “The Spitfire Grill” to life.
“It touched me. I really liked it,” Fouhy said before a rehearsal at the Auburn Mountainview Theatre. “It’s very emotional. It reaches out and makes you think about humanity.
“It’s not so much a comedy, it has more of a deeper meaning,” Fouhy added.
“The Spitfire Grill” will premiere Thursday, one of six evening performances and a benefit for the school’s drama students scholarship fund.
“The Spitfire Grill” is the uplifting tale of parolee Percy Talbott, who tries to shed the shadows of her past and finds herself in the waning town of Gilead, Wis. Small-town suspicions and gossip are diminished as Percy’s challenging spirit brings Gilead back to life. The audience joins Percy’s inspirational journey as she, Hannah Ferguson (grill owner) and Shelby Thorpe (wife of Hannah’s nephew) spread hope and redemption throughout the town.
Based on the 1996 film by Lee David Zlotoff, the authors of the musical have moved the setting from Maine to Wisconsin and added a happy ending. In the film, Percy dies for the sins of the people in the backwoods town. In the musical, Percy finds healing and purpose.
“It leaves the audience with a positive message of change and acceptance,” said Madeline Slettedahl, who plays Percy. “It’s less morose than the film. There’s a happy ending. It’s more uplifting.”
Slettedahl, a recent graduate of Auburn Mountainview, welcomes the lead role after working primarily as a musical director under Fouhy. She plans to study piano performance at Western Washington University this fall. Acting remains a passionate hobby.
“She’s very complex. She’s kind of a diamond-in-the-rough, as it were,” Slettedahl said of her character. “She sings a song in the opening, ‘Ring Around the Moon,’ which is a metaphor for a storm coming in a Biblical sense. She comes into this town and turns everything around. At first, everybody thinks it’s going to be something bad. But in the end, she ends up bringing the town to life.”
The play brings together a cast of young and older talent, as well as the sounds of alumni musicians.
The play works because of its small cast and single stage setup, Fouhy said.
“And the subject matter of healing and rebirth and second chances is apropos for fundraiser,” said David Allen Ellis, who plays Caleb Thorpe, an out-of-work foreman and the fiercely protective nephew of the grill’s owner, Hannah.
Ellis is a 1985 Auburn High grad who studied at New York’s National Shakespeare Conservatory for several years before returning home to resume his studies at PLU. He will share his role with Dave Cox, the drama instructor at Rainier Middle School who received rave reviews for his performance as the sadistic dentist in “Shop of Horrors.”
The cast also welcomes new faces, including Brynne Geiszler, a 2003 Auburn High and Cornish College of the Arts graduate who has performed regularly at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse.
“It’s nice to be able to work in a different environment … to do more script with intention,” said Geiszler, who plays nosey town gossip and postmistress Effy Kraynek. “It’s a good show. It’s very touching.”
Karen Frerichs, Auburn Mountainview High School music teacher, returns to the stage to play Hannah.
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Showtime
• Play: “The Spitfire Grill” – American musical presented by The Summer Alumni Theatre Company under the direction of Paul Fouhy.
• Performances: 7:30 p.m., Aug. 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21
• Stage: Auburn Mountainview Theatre, 28900 124th Ave. SE, Auburn.
• Admission: $8. Proceeds benefit the Auburn Mountainview High School drama students scholarship fund.
• Cast: Madeline Slettedahl (Percy Talbott); Jeffrey Rowden (Sheriff Joe Sutter); David Allen Ellis and Dave Cox (Caleb Thorpe); Brynne Geiszler (Effy Krayneck); Lauren Slettedahl (Shelby Thorpe); Ryan Logan Evans (The Visitor); Karen Frerichs (Hannah Ferguson).
• Support: Musicians (Corrine Judd, fiddle; Brent Lyman, piano, keyboards; Chris Walbridge, guitar; Aaron Spieldenner, bass). Stage manager (Molly Whittaker). Choreography (L. Slettedahl).
