Director Steve Steiner and two lead actors share what’s cooking at The Spitfire Grill and what it took to serve it up
By MARRIE STONE
Photos by Jason Niedle
Stage actors have a tough job. Theater is a brutal business under the best of circumstances and, let’s face it, the last few years haven’t been the best. Musical theater imposes its own set of demands. Actors aren’t only playing their roles; they’re singing their roles. Now meet the cast of The Spitfire Grill, who act, sing, and play the instruments you’d traditionally hear from the orchestra pit – and then several more.
The original musical, staged in 2000, included seven characters and a five-person pit orchestra. Today’s production features eight cast members and no orchestra at all. There are recorders and mandolins, guitars and cellos, violins and keyboards and more. Most players juggle up to five separate instruments in addition to acting onstage.
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(Back row) Noah Berry, Julia Hoffmann, Glen Rovinelli, Sarah Godwin, Anneliese Moon, Alex Canty. (At the table) Grant Alexander Brown and Missy McArdle star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “The Spitfire Grill,” directed by Steve Steiner and now playing at the Laguna Playhouse
Beyond that, an engaging and poignant story unfolds that tackles timeless themes – redemption and second chances, loss and hope – in original ways. “The story has a lot more depth than a lot of musical theater,” said Director Steve Steiner. “Every character has an interesting storyline and all are compelling. And the story resolves in a very interesting way.”
Based on a 1994 movie by the same name, The Spitfire Grill follows Percy Talbott, a plucky parolee who’s recently been released from prison. She lands in Gilead, Wisconsin, a fictional town she chose for its fall leaves and picturesque portrayal in travel guides. Despite its postcard appearance, Gilead is little more than a café and a post office, portrayed by residents as “a place for leaving, not for coming to.”
Percy soon finds herself working for Hannah Ferguson (played by Missy McArdle) in the Spitfire Grill. Widowed and aging, Hannah is ready to leave Spitfire behind, but no one will buy a restaurant in this tiny town that time forgot. Over the course of the two-hour production, friendships are forged, plans hatched, secrets revealed and a renewed appreciation for their Podunk town gains traction.
“Gilead is a melancholy place at the beginning, but it turns out to be a place of great joy – almost heavenly – at the end,” said McArdle. “It’s really a story about redemption. There’s nothing overtly religious about it, but the town is essentially reborn. In a way, it’s a resurrection story about a formerly dead town, lacking all hope, that’s suddenly now alive.”
I’ll save the spoilers but, trust me, there are plenty.
Staging such an ambitious show requires a ton of talent. But it also relies on a cast that’s comfortable with discomfort and nimble enough to undertake the unknown.
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(L-R) Glen Rovinelli, Sarah Godwin, Julia Hoffmann, Missy McArdle, Anneliese Moon, Alex Canty and Grant Alexander Brown. Each of the eight actors plays a variety of musical instruments throughout the play, serving as their own orchestra while acting their parts.
I sat down with Director Steve Steiner and cast members Missy McArdle and Noah Berry to hear the rewards and challenges of staging this remarkable musical, along with how these actors connected with their roles. For a unified play, each person’s perspective on it sounded totally different. I soon realized their divergent views probably contributed to the power of this production.
Steve Steiner’s rich history in musical theater perfectly positioned him to direct The Spitfire Grill
Steiner’s theatrical resume spans more than 50 years. It includes Broadway hits like Buddy Holly: The Buddy Holly Story, Anything Goes and State Fair. Off-Broadway credits include Annie Warbucks, Return to the Forbidden Plant and Honky Tonk Highway. Then there are all the national tours and casino productions, which number into the dozens. Steiner directed more than 50 regional productions across 17 states. He currently serves as the producing artistic director of Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, New Jersey.
That extensive musical theater experience paid dividends in the production of The Spitfire Grill. While finding eight actors who can hold down over a dozen musical instruments on stage might be a challenge, Steiner had already worked with five of them.
“A significant portion of my directing career is working on shows with player actor musicians,” Steiner said. “It helps to have a network of people.” Steiner called a few of them and asked if they could handle the role. “Everyone who read this script and heard the music wanted to be a part of it. The music is just gorgeous.”
Because Steiner is based in New Jersey and the cast comes primarily from the east coast, and because of the complicated nature of the production, the rehearsal process looked a little different this time. “We spent that first day reading the texts of the songs…so everyone could really understand what was being communicated,” Steiner said. “A lot of time when you’re singing, you’re paying attention to the note values and pitches and other musical aspects. You’re not focused on the meaning of the text. We had to visit that first.” Learning the music and creating the orchestration took several days. Then ensuring that the actors’ movements, songs and dialogue reinforced the themes of the play also took time.
“We spent three days digging through the theme work very, very slowly and developing and deepening the acting work so, by the time it was done, the actors had the whole structure of the piece in their bodies and minds,” Steiner said. “Then we went on the trail of discovery to find the real meat of the piece and meat behind the acting roles.”
Despite rehearsing the show from a distance and moving the cast and crew across the country, Steiner’s familiarity with the Laguna Playhouse made for a seamless transition. Steiner’s first show at the Playhouse was in 2014 when he staged Ring of Fire. He did The Buddy Holly Story that same year. Several productions followed including Footloose. Most recently, he did Sh-Boom. “It’s really a lovely cooperative effort,” Steiner said of his relationship with the Laguna Playhouse. “We really look forward to coming back.” His counterpart in Laguna, Executive Producing Director Ellen Richard, referred to the two theaters as bi-coastal “sisters.” It’s a description that sounds about right.
Missy McArdle shares the challenges of aging in this industry as a woman
Sixty-nine-year-old Missy McArdle (who plays Hannah, the owner of the Spitfire Grill) has been in the business since the 1970s. She first played Helene in a 1976 production of Sweet Charity in Boca Raton, Florida. She’s worked steadily ever since, playing in such iconic productions as Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, 1776, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and many others. An accomplished musician, McArdle performs both vocally and instrumentally throughout South Florida.
When Steiner offered her the role of Hannah, McArdle jumped at the opportunity. “The part was in my vocal range,” said McArdle. “Plus, Hannah is in her 70s and I’m 69. It’s a part that doesn’t come along often for older women in musical theater.”
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Missy McArdle and Alex Canty star in “The Spitfire Grill.” McArdle’s 50 years of acting and singing skills paid dividends on stage.
We talked about what it means to be an older woman in the industry and the challenges McArdle faces as a result. “The play is complex,” she said. “I will admit I’m getting older, and I had a little struggle with my lines. All these kids are so young and wonderful. I was bringing up the rear, but I’m catching up. It’s been a challenge for all of us, but it’s probably been more challenging for me because of my age and some disabilities I have. But I’m coming around.”
Contrary to most success stories, McArdle never intended to have a career in theater. She studied journalism in college and prided herself on her typing skills. “I’m good in the office, and that got me into every theater I ever worked for in my entire career in South Florida,” she said.
McArdle came from what she refers to as a “Podunk town” in northwest Florida (maybe reminiscent of Gilead?). “I went to college for free because my mother was on the faculty, so I stayed in junior college for seven or eight years,” McArdle said. “My father used to joke that I was the only person to get a graduate degree from a junior college.”
Even if McArdle didn’t seek out the theater, theaters found her. With her acting chops and incredible vocal talent, it’s easy to see why. Song after song, her performance commanded audience attention, with the cast earning a standing ovation in the end.
“It’s gotten harder since I came into the business,” she said. “Today you’ve got to be a triple – maybe even a quadruple – threat to rise to the top of the industry. This cast is a great example of extremely talented young people who are successfully making their way in the theater. They play instruments, they are excellent actors, they’re singers, they’re dancers, their technicians. They can do it all.” Even the assistant stage manager has a BFA in theater, McArdle told me.
For her part, McArdle plays the recorder. “I’ve never been a pit musician,” she said. “The recorder is an early musical instrument. It never made it into the modern orchestra because it can’t be heard. I’m highly amplified.”
McArdle is married to musician and Musical Director Glen Rovinelli, who orchestrated the music for The Spitfire Grill. Rovinelli plays a whopping 72 instruments of his own and performs with McArdle in big bands, musical theaters and liturgical settings.
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(L-R) Missy McArdle, Sarah Godwin, Noah Berry and Alex Canty. McArdle used her age to her advantage in bringing the role of Hannah to life.
Newcomers to the industry, like Noah Berry, must remain flexible and adept
While McArdle sees The Spitfire Grill through a spiritual lens, describing its themes with words like “redemption,” “resurrection,” “rebirth” and “heavenly,” colleague Noah Berry (who plays Sheriff Joe Sutter) has a more secular take on his role.
“I found a lot of similarities between me and Joe,” Berry said. “Joe is a very young sheriff – late 20s or early 30s – who has a wandering mind. He wants to leave Gilead, but he’s waiting for his father to pass away. He’s having trouble finding his way, finding a purpose and a reason to exist. He doesn’t know what he wants, and he mistakes that for being bored and upset with the place he lives.” Until Percy comes to town.
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Noah Berry (shown with Julia Hoffmann, who plays Percy Talbott) tapped into his own life experience as a young theater actor finding his way in a difficult business to bring the role of Sheriff Joe to life
Berry connected with his character’s restless time of life and the difficulty of finding his way in a world that recently turned itself upside down. “This business is really scary, incredibly difficult and hard to maneuver, especially when you throw a pandemic on top of it,” Berry said. “I was on tour when theaters shut down. I went on unemployment for a while. Like Joe, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and felt very doubtful. It was difficult to find my way in this business. I’m starting to feel better about it as I continue to do more professional work, but I connected with Joe. He’s a curious mind and a bit of a wanderer. I was like that for a long time too. I found more and more similarities as we continued through the rehearsal process.”
Berry’s extensive background in music helped, but mastering the many instruments took a toll. “It has certainly been an uphill battle,” he said. “I actually learned two new instruments for this show because they were short on parts. I play guitar, both stand up and electric bass, mandolin, cello, a little box drum and the keyboard. I’m also singing on top of that, of course.”
Both the cello and mandolin were new instruments for Berry. “That has been a real point of anxiety for me, trying to learn the cello. It’s such a beautiful instrument and the music in the show is so gorgeous. I’m now finding peace with this instrument as I’m getting better. It puts another good thing on my list.”
Music comes naturally for Berry. His father was an amateur opera singer, doing community opera in Berry’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio. His mother worked in theater and his grandfather was a concert pianist. Berry said he’s had music in his life since he came out of the womb.
Still, he says, bringing Sheriff Joe to life while juggling all the instruments was a challenge. “It’s difficult to bring emotion and life into a character while also trying to focus on playing the notes right,” he said. “I have 15 things going on in my brain at once.”
Determined to meld Joe’s complex emotional landscape with the music, Berry set out to turn obstacles into advantages. “It’s all about the music. I can’t express my emotions through talking, so now I have to sing,” he said. “Bringing an instrument on top of that is another layer of complexity to the character. As an actor I have to ask myself questions like, ‘Why would Joe play the guitar at this point? Why would he be playing the mandolin? What can I do with my fingering techniques to make it feel more like a hardened sheriff sitting in a grill in Wisconsin?’ You have to ask those big questions about who this person is – and who he’s become over the course of the play – to bring depth to his character. Maybe Joe wouldn’t hold the guitar the same way I would, so how would he do it?”
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(L-R) Noah Berry, Anneliese Moon, Missy McArdle and Julia Hoffmann. Here Berry showcases his guitar and vocal skills.
What didn’t kill Berry made him stronger. “The challenge of playing an instrument and singing has made me a much better actor over these past few weeks,” he said. “I’ve felt myself grow in these rehearsals. My anxiety over trying to learn everything has made me a much better listener and made me better at being on top of things.”
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(L-R) Anneliese Moon, Missy McArdle and Julia Hoffmann brought their talents to the stage and earned themselves a standing ovation
But back to Gilead. That Podunk town of close-knit residents who – in the end – looked out for each other, mourned with each other and, ultimately, celebrated each other. The play makes several mentions of big cities across America where people often lead isolated lives locked in concrete high-rises, never knowing their neighbors. In her opening remarks when introducing the play, Ellen Richard drew some important comparisons between Laguna Beach and Gilead. The town gossip might resonate with some of you, Richard told the audience. But the annoyance of some folks knowing everybody’s business comes with a corresponding level of intimacy – of feeling connected to a place and its people. Of belonging.
“Theater is often a lens into another world, and sometimes it’s a reflection of our own world,” said Richard. “That’s what you’re going to find inside the Spitfire Grill.”
The Spitfire Grill runs through Sunday, Feb. 13. Visit the Laguna Playhouse website for performance times, ticket information and COVID protocols at https://lagunaplayhouse.com/ or call 949.497.2787.