This past week, Creighton’s theater department produced the stage musical, the Spitfire Grill. The unique bluegrass-infused musical opened on Nov. 12 and ran through Sunday in the Lied Education Center for the Arts’ intimate studio theater.
“The Spitfire Grill” takes place in the small, rural town of Gilead. Over the course of the musical, the town is faced with social and economic challenges, and the storyline follows the reactions of seven different townspeople. The main character, Percy, played by College of Arts & Sciences senior Colleen Kilcoyne, is a young woman who has just been released from prison and chooses to settle down in Gilead.
Focusing on only a few characters, “The Spitfire Grill” was produced on a rather small scale.
“With only seven people, it’s a small cast. But the technical and musical elements are anything but small,” Kilcoyne said.
The set was designed by Bill Van Deest, Creighton’s theater coordinator and impressive in the amount of details and decoration. Similarly, the props produced by College of Arts & Scieneces junior Victoria Vitola, were elaborate and helped to tell the story as much as the lines did.
Kilcoyne explained that the orchestra, which featured a violin, accordion, cello, upright bass, piano and percussion, produced a full instrumental sound, almost as if a whole orchesta was accompanying the singers in the muscial.
The Spitfire Grill is much more grounded in realism than some of Creighton’s previous musical theater productions.
“One thing that challenged us while approaching this script was maintaining the
reality of it. Sometimes with musical theater, we find ourselves wanting to dramatically burst out into song while simultaneously perfecting jazz squares,” Kilconye said. “However with “The Spitfire Grill,” it is important to genuinely maintain the true human emotion without thefluff.”
Because of its intimate setting and realistic feel, Creighton’s production of “The Spitfire Grill” has a dimension of relatability.
“While the scenarios are serious and probably foreign, the humanity of it all can also be very relatable,” Kilcoyne said.
Overall, audiences loved the uniqueness and intimacy of the performance, while the cast and crew had an enjoyable experience as well.
“I’ve really enjoyed this production. The cast and production crew have been so supportive. The product would not have been the same if it weren’t for the immense camaraderie among everyone involved,” Kilcoyne said.