The Spitfire Grill - Ten Thousand Things Theater

Finally, I saw my very first Ten Thousand Things Theater show!! This company has been performing since 1991 to much acclaim. All the bloggers I know have raved about their work, how the performances are incredible, and the production is simple but so fantastic all at the same time. Looking at their mission statement, and their values, the production I watched last night did everything they believe in. 

The Spitfire Grill is a musical by James Balcq and Fred Alley based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. After reading the synopsis of the film, I am so glad it was made into a musical and the ending was changed. The Ten Thousand Things production was directed by Marcela Lorca and Michelle O'Neill, with music direction by Peter Vitale. The performance I saw was held in an Art Gallery on the second floor of a church. It is a big open space, carpeted floor in the center of the room, chairs on all four sides of an empty space. In the corner is a piano, guitar, violin, and some percussion pieces. The music is played by Peter Vitale, and Tyson Forbes. The score is sparse with a laid back country/folk feel to it. The songs perfectly fit the story through out. It felt like everything was there to tell the story being told - the music, the lyrics, the book, the set pieces, the costume pieces...every thing.

Photo: Tom Wallace

The performances...wow. The story is about Percy Talbott (Katherine Fried) who gets out of prison after a five year sentence. An image that helped her survive those five years were of the autumn colors in a place named Gilead. She takes the bus there, the sheriff Joe Sutter (Dominic Schiro) meets her and takes her to the Spitfire Grill...the only place in the ghost town of Gilead that may have a job, along with room and board. The owner of the Spitfire is Hannah Ferguson (Michelle Barber), who runs the place on her own. She unwillingly takes Percy in and from that point on - you will need to go see the show. There is gossip being spread, usually by Effy Krayneck (George Keller), along with friendships to be built with Shelby Thorpe (Katie Bradley), possible jealousy from Caleb Thorpe (Tom Reed), and a mysterious visitor (Tyson Forbes). Each performance was so strong, and so character/story driven. It felt like watching real life, real relationships and connections being made in that empty space. The voices were just as fantastic. Katherine Fried is perfectly suited to this role, with a strong voice that has a good country feel to it, easing up to high notes with a great lower range. Incredible. Michelle Barber has been performing at the Chanhassen for years and knows her way around a song. Katie Bradley I have only seen in non-musical roles, or as a director and now I know that she is a triple threat in this way - acting, directing, and singing. George Keller, Tom Reed, and Dominic Schiro are just as fantastic when it comes to their songs. A quick note about Schiro, this is his professional debut and I am excited to see where he goes. He is a very strong actor, with a really great voice. An incredible cast through out!

Photo: Tom Wallace

Here is the thing about Ten Thousand Things. They break a play or musical down to the basics. They play these shows in empty spaces - meaning non-theatre spaces, usually, and they make their shows totally movable. One of their objectives is to take theater into non-theatre spaces, like correctional facilities, or residential communities. So, this show does not have a set, the costumes are very simple and easy to quickly change, and all that is needed are things to tell the story. For example, each actor had a long pole that they used at times as percussion off-stage, but also used as a prop on-stage. Three poles together make for a window that one actor can move the horizontal pole up and down as if opening and closing a window. Simple and effective. My favorite was a moment when Hannah Ferguson was climbing up the stairs to go to bed...simple and very effective use of props. The other aspect about Ten Thousand Things is that they leave the lights on - there is no special lighting, or effects. You can look around and see the actors who are "off-stage" as they prep for their next entrance, or hear them walk behind you during a scene. Personally I think this is an amazing part of what they do because it really does make the audience focus on the story being told, instead of sitting back and getting lost in the special lights, or big set, etc. The downside is during heartwarming and moving shows like this, you can see audience members across from you tearing up. Honestly for a wonderful and powerfully redemptive show like this, I am ok with that. I look forward to seeing more from this company. If you haven't seen them, or haven't seen this specific show, I highly recommend you do so.