"Superior Donuts" at Lyric Arts

"Loving #SuperiorDonuts @LyricArtsAnoka! Smart, funny, relevant play by #TracyLetts and great cast! And it's nice to see some diversity on the stage and in the audience. #intermissiontweets."
Twitter @cherryandspoon

Sometimes 280 characters is all you need. But I've got a few more here, so I'll expand on last night's intermission tweet. Lyric Arts' production of Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts, which premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater ten years ago, is one of the best things I've seen there. I almost always enjoy my trip to Anoka to see theater at Lyric, but my biggest complaint has been the lack of diversity on the stage at this theater in the 'burbs that only recently transitioned out of being a community theater. This play is a great step in the right direction, a new-ish play by a current acclaimed American playwright. And this cast is fantastic, really bringing out the heart and humor of the piece. Friends, if you've not been to Lyric lately, now is the time to head up Highway 10 to the old movie theater on Main Street (it's not as far as you think).

"The Spitfire Grill" at Lyric Arts

"There is a balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole." So says the old spiritual, and so too is there a balm in the fictional town of Gilead, Wisconsin, the setting for the 2001 Off-Broadway musical The Spitfire Grill, based on the 1996 movie of the same name. Yes, this story of an ex-con finding redemption in a small town feels a little like a Hallmark movie, with an unrealistically idealistic portrayal of small-town life, but it's also poignant and touching and filled with stirring and moving music. In the new production by Anoka's Lyric Arts, the story is beautifully brought to life by a winning cast, and is a decidedly warm-hearted, feel-good musical that will leave you humming the tunes as you wipe away tears.

Upon being released from prison for a crime that is later revealed, Percy (short for Perchance) decides to move to the small town of Gilead based solely on the photo of the fall colors along the creek she finds in a newspaper, and the desire to make a fresh start somewhere new. Local Sheriff Joe acts as her parole officer and sets her up with a room and a job at the Spitfire Grill, run by Hannah, who begrudgingly agrees. Percy also meets Hannah's nephew Caleb and his wife Shelby, and mail carrier/town busybody Effy. She soon learns that small-town life is not as idyllic as that newspaper photo makes it out to be, with residents suffering from grief, abuse, and the longing to get out. But Percy also learns, perhaps for the first time in her life, what it is to be part of a community, to be needed, to experience trust and friendship. As is often the case in these fish-out-of-water stories, Percy is the catalyst for change in this community that has been stuck in a rut for too long.

Christy Jones, Martha Wigmore, and Katharine Strom
(photo by Michael Traynor)

 The story and character development are told largely through music. And my favorite kind of music at that - a sort of folky/Americana, mixed with some Broadway sound. The off-stage five-piece orchestra led by Music Director Mary Cay Stone includes mandolin and fiddle, as any good folky band should. I really enjoyed the score (by James Valcq and Fred Alley) which evokes a definite sense of place - small-town America - and includes some lovely and interesting melodies that are designed to pull at the heartstrings. And everyone in this seven-person cast sounds fantastic and imbues the music with much emotion.

James Ehlenz and Katharine Strom (photo by Michael Traynor)

Katharine Strom has impressed in a few over-the-top comedic roles both musical and non-musical, but this is a star turn for her. She brings such depth, toughness, and raw heart to her earthy and earnest portrayal of Percy. Her voice is crystal clear and lovely, and brimming with emotion. Christy Jones also sounds lovely as Shelby, and the two portray a believable friendship. Martha Wigmore is tough and tender as the Grill's owner with a secret of her own, James Ehlenz is charming as Sheriff Joe who takes a shine to Percy, Patrick Jones is appropriately unlikable as the controlling husband Caleb, Shana Eisenberg provides comic relief as the busybody Effy, and Brad Bone brings humanity and pathos to the role of the mysterious visitor.

Gabriel Gomez's scenic design brings the beautiful Midwest fall outdoors inside the theater. The only indoor set is, appropriately, the charming and rustic Grill, with about half the stage filled with trees and leaves and representations of nature, an important character in the play. Adam Raine's lighting design casts a warm glow on the cast and the town of Gilead, making it a place you'll wish you could visit.

The Spitfire Grill reminds me a little of the musical Violet, and that's a very good thing. Both feature Americana music and a small cast and band, and tell the story of a young woman on a quest to heal her past and make a new start for a better future, positively affecting those she meets along the way. This is a story of friendship, of healing, of second chances, of community, of forgiveness. In this cynical time, it is indeed a balm to escape for a few hours into the simpler world of Gilead, where there are troubles aplenty, but where hard work, friendship, and community offer a chance for hope and healing. (Playing now through November 1.)

"Death of a Salesman" at Lyric Arts

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a classic American play. Premiering in 1949, it won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. It's a complex and layered look at the life of a man named Willy Loman who worked hard his whole life for his family, but never quite achieved what he wanted. The director of the new production at Lyric Arts in Anoka, Robert Neu, writes in the program notes: "Death of a Salesman is about the American dream, for better and for worse. Willy's dream, while he can hold on to it, seems possible and beautiful. The ultimate dissolving and corruption of that dream destroys Willy and forever changes his family." It's the great American tragedy - you work and work and work to pay the bills and buy the things you need, and at the end of it all, what do you have to show for it? A downer, yes, but beautifully written and a thought-provoking look at life that's still relevant more than 60 years later. This is the first play I've attended at Lyric Arts (I've previously seen a few musicals there) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but they do a very nice job with this complex work of theater.

An interesting feature of this play, and part of what makes it so powerful, is that we get a look inside Willy Loman's mind as he remembers scenes from his past and talks to ghosts. He's at the end of his career as a traveling salesman, and he's tired and slowly beginning to lose his mind. His wife Linda loves him desperately and wants to help him but doesn't know how. His two grown sons are a disappointment to him, and because of that mostly stay away. When the whole family is under the same roof again, issues from the past resurface. Willy remembers happier days when the boys were football stars with bright futures ahead of them, as well as the event that changed all of that. This tragic story could only have a tragic ending, and it's devastating to watch the inevitable unfold.

I was quite impressed with the cast; Death of a Salesman is not an easy play for a community theater to tackle. Warren Sampson is believable and sympathetic as Willy, playing his moments of sanity mixed with ever increasing desperation. Martha Wigmore conveys Linda's love for her husband and her feelings of utter helplessness. As the playboy younger son Happy, who like his name seems to have not a care in the world, Max Lorei is all youthful charm. But the standout in the cast is Ty Hudson (who also had a nice turn in one of my favorite shows of last year, Summer and Smoke at Theater in the Round). As the elder son Biff, he gives a very real performance that culminates in a gut-wrenching physical scene when he confronts his father with equal parts hate and love.

The play takes place mainly in and around the Lomans' Brooklyn home, a cozy set (designed by Brian J. Proball) with vintage appliances and an upstairs loft where the boys sleep. Scenes from the past are differentiated from the present by slight changes in lighting and costumes and a lighter attitude among the characters.

Death of a Salesman is playing now through April 12 at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage in Anoka. If you live on the north side of town, it's worth the drive to see this classic piece of American theater.