About the Play:

The Spitfire Grill is a full-length musical drama with music and book by James Valcq, lyrics and book by Fred Alley, based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. A young woman leaves prison, only to learn that a second chance isn't easy to come by. From the beloved film, an uplifting and inspiring story of personal redemption and the reawakening of a small Wisconsin town.

The Spitfire Grill depicts the journey of a young woman just released from prison who decides to start her life anew. Percy, a feisty parolee, follows her dreams to a small town in Wisconsin, after seeing pictures of it in an old travel book, and finds a place for herself working at Hannah's Spitfire Grill. As newcomer Percy becomes involved with Hannah, Hannah’s family, and others in the town, she soon learns that she is not the only person in town who needs a second chance in life. The Spitfire Grill itself needs a second chance as well. It has been for sale for ten years, but there are no takers for the only eatery in the depressed town. Percy suggests to Hannah that she raffle it off. Entry fees are one hundred dollars and the best essay on "why you want the grill" wins the diner. Soon, mail is arriving by the wheelbarrow full, and Percy's ability to see beauty and worth in both the town and the people grows, while the townspeople have epiphanies of their own.

The Spitfire Grill premiered in 2000 at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey and opened in 2001 Off-Broadway by Playwrights Horizons, receiving Best Musical nominations from the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League, as well as two Drama Desk nominations. It has become one of the most frequently performed recent musicals with more than 300 productions to date, not only in every major American city but in Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Japan as well. In 2008 the show had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Cast: 3 female, 4 male

What people say:

"A soul satisfying... work of theatrical resourcefulness. A compelling story that flows with grace and carries the rush of anticipation. The story moves, the characters have many dimensions and their transformations are plausible and moving. The musical is freeing. It is penetrated by honesty and it glows." — The New York Times

"Soulful... The amiable country flavored tunes and lyrics are rendered with the kind of conviction and expertise that make them transcendent. What in normal times would be a joy is, in these troubled ones, sheer nourishment." — New York Magazine

"Soaring melodies!... Well before the show reaches its conclusion, many...city slickers in the audience may be ready to enter Percy's raffle." — The Wall Street Journal

"An abundance of warmth, spirit and goodwill! ... Some of the most engaging and instantly infectious melodies I've heard in an original musical in some time." — USA Today

About the Playwright:

James Valcq is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist, best known as co-writer of The Spitfire Grill and writer of Zombies from The Beyond, which have both become staples in regional and communty theatres. He holds an MFA from NYU's Musical Theatre Program and a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to musicals, he has composed song cycles and choral pieces which have been performed in the U.S. and Europe.

Fred Alley (1962–2001) was an American musical theatre lyricist and librettist who died unexpectedly just as his work gained national recognition. His collaboration on the musical The Spitfire Grill with composer James Valcq won the American Academy of Arts and Letters' prestigious Richard Rodgers Production Award for 2001.

Lee David Zlotoff is an award-winning American writer, producer, and director of film and television with well over a hundred production credits to his name. Most notably among them, he was the writer and creator of the iconic and international hit TV series, MacGyver, which has since joined the dictionary and become a global meme for resourcefulness and ingenuity. He was also the writer and director of the independent feature film, The Spitfire Grill, which won the coveted Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and has gone on to become a highly successful musical.