The Spitfire Grill Opens at the Westminster Arts Center

“Chick flicks” get a bad name. The term, used to denote a “touchy-feely” movie with primarily females in the lead, usually means you’re in for a lot of women bonding and crying together.

But what’s wrong with that? “Thelma & Louise”? “A League of Their Own”? “Terms of Endearment”? Some really excellent films can definitely be dubbed “chick flicks”.

Kicking off their 15th anniversary, 4th Wall Theater would like you to add “The Spitfire Grill” to that list of great films. Only this one is on the stage.

Adapted from the Lee David Zlotoff film of the same name, the story begins with Percy Talbott (Alexis Field) leaving prison and arriving in a small Midwest town called Gilead. She quickly gets a job working for Hannah Ferguson (Jodi Freeman Maloy) at the local eatery only to find herself taking over as manager/cook/waitress when Ferguson hurts her leg. Aided by housewife, Shelby Thorpe (Katie Bland), Talbott grows to love the restaurant, the town and the people in it. However, the looming specter of her past continues to lurk at the edges of the shadows.

As usual, the 4th Wall brings together a superb cast, this time led by two new young faces. Bland, a Webster University grad, gives her character the moving gravitas of a girl becoming a woman. Field, a fellow Webster alumni, could initially be mistaken for spunky little upstart if not for the scene which illuminates her past. She allows the yearning, loss and hope break through in a scene that will give you chills.

In the program for “The Spitfire Grill” Jodi Freeman Maloy’s bio lists her previous roles as “Mrs. Strakosh” in “Funny Girl” and “Mrs. Grace” in this past summer’s “A Man of No Importance”. In that bio she jokes that “she is now very pleased to have a first name in a production.”

And she more than earns that honor. While some of the younger actors still appear to be exploring their performances, Maloy never appears unsure of herself whether she is in the spotlight or not. She embodies the gruff, weatherworn soul of the small town as if she were part of the set itself.

Yet, with all of these accomplished actors there were other aspects of the play to appreciate. Sitting down in Westminster’s snug theater, the first most striking point to take notice of is, in fact, the set. With its unfinished furniture and lattice-like background, the set projected the cozy warmth and creaky age of a forgotten corner of the world.

The songs can be hit-or-miss. There are some forgettable numbers but songs such as “The Colors of Paradise”, “Forest for the Trees” and “Out of the Frying Pan” more than make up for them. As does the talented cast, whose voices blend so seamlessly on songs such as “Come Alive Again” and “Shoot the Moon”.

Audience member Debra Cerruti had this to say: “I love it, because I love folk music period. And there’s really that American, what can I say, flavor? But bigger than that. You sense the American dream, you sense the disappointment . . . it’s a great group of characters, it’s a phenomenal theme and that was an extraordinary end.”

She concedes that you may see where the story is going but it doesn’t matter once you get caught up in the characters’ lives.

“The Spitfire Grill” will play next week, as well, with shows at 8:00pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and on Sunday at 3:00pm. Call the Westminster Arts Center box office for tickets, (973) 748-9008 ext. 279.

“The Spitfire Grill” musical was originally adapted in 2001 with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley.