Jason Blackwater – Analog Artist Digital World

I went to a dress rehearsal for The Spitfire Grill at Mad Cow Theater. The show is based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. The music and book are by James Valcq with Fred Alley on lyrics and writing. The wonderful thing about a rehearsal is that the actors have fewer worries since they are not in front of an audience. I am used to hearing actors exercising their voices with scales and vocal calisthenics. For this run, a loud burp echoes from back stage. The mood was set for a classy Midwestern musical.

A Stage hand was working on the moon made of wooden planks cut into a circle. He called out to director David Lee to see of it was straight. David asked Pam Schwartz and I if we thought it was straight. I had just drawn the moon and the slats in my sketch were straight, so I shouted back, “Yep perfectly straight.” David then called back to the stage hand saying “I just asked a straight couple and they should know.” David explained that his lead singer Kari had been
the understudy for Evita at the Shakes and she had to take on the lead roll
twice in one day with just 45 minutes notice.Actors in the show also doubled as the band performing on banjo

The play opened with Percy Talbot (Kari Ringer) sitting on her suitcase. She had just been released from prison and was hoping to start life over. Based on a page from an old travel book, she ended up in the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. Kari’s singing voice immediately dominated and the song of hope for new beginnings certainly resonated with me. The local sheriff, Joe Sutter (Sean Powell) who was also Percy’s parole officer, found
her a job at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill, the only eatery in the
struggling town.

It turned out that Pecy wasn’t much of a cook and the town gossip Effy (Leesa Castaneda) talked about her behind her back. Shelby Thorp (Brittany Halen) stepped in to also help out at the grill. Her husband, Caleb (Jason Blackwater) a quarry Foreman, however felt a woman’s place is in the home. She had to fight for the independence needed to work outside the home.

Hannah (Jac LeDoux) had wanted to sell the Spitfire Grill for years. But with no interested buyers, her two worker bees talk her into raffling it off. Entry fees were $100, and the best essay on why you want the Grill wins. Percy, a feisty parolee, winds up in Wisconsin and lands a job at the Grill. Soon, things start heating up as mail arrives by the wheelbarrow-full.

I loved every gruff Midwestern character and lost soul hoping to find home. They reminded me of the big hearted but callous and cautious people I come across when traveling to Iowa. The Spitfire Grill is an inspiring celebration of fresh starts and positive influence of any one person. It was a fabulous uplifting show and a great way to kick off the holiday season. “Say what you want, say what you will, somethings cooking at the Spitfire grill.”

The show runs through December 29, 2019. Tickets are $20 to $42.

Second Saturday Matinee: Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019 at 2:30 p.m.

Discounted Monday Nights: Monday, Dec. 16 and Monday, Dec. 23, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.

Ken Carpenter Talk backs: Take place after
each regular Thursday and Sunday performance. Talk backs are free to
audience members and are open to the public at no extra cost.

Group Discounts: Save 20% off full-price tickets with parties of 10 or more.

Hand to God written by Robert Askins, was presented by Generation Productions at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and was an unexpected, hilarious, and irreverent production. In a church Sunday school class, students are using puppets in a morality play. Timothy, a shy boy, played by Jerry J. Jobe had a puppet with plans of his own. The puppet calls out Timmy’s attraction to Jessica (Devan Seaman) in rather lascivious ways. Jason, (Andrew Romano) skulked with crossed arms and was anxious to cause trouble. The Sunday school puppetry teacher was Margery (Rebecca Fisher) and she was also Timmy’s mom.

The play’s title is a bit misleading. From the moment the foul-mouthed puppet on Timmy’s hand spoke for himself the laughs just kept on coming. This is no quiet morality play. The underlying unspoken heartfelt drama came from the loss of Timmy’s dad. The brunt of the action was aimed at resolving the fractured relationship between Timmy and his mom. The stakes got higher when Pastor Greg (Jason Blackwater) insists that Margery present a play at the next service. Timmy, knowing he has no control over what the puppet might say, has to let his mother down.

Both Jason and Pastor Greg made advances on Margery. She was left devastated after her husband’s death and crashed against the rocks. The classroom became a devil’s den complete with a satanic star and a teddy bear, pubic hair included, with an arrow through it, when Timmy and his puppet take over.

One of the funnier moments came when Jessica decides to speak to Timmy’s puppet through her own puppet. The result is a hilarious 5 minute sex scene with the two puppets as she is able to confide in Timmy, all as the distracted puppets bumped together. The production was a blast being a cross between Little Shop of Horrors and the Exorcist. Rebecca Fisher as Margery was fantastic. This was an amazing role for her. Jeremy J. Jobe also did an amazing job as he tried to remove the satanic puppet from his life.

The play was produced by Aaron Safer, and featured direction by Kenny Howard. The set design was by Bonnie Sprung, with costumes by Kyla Swanberg, and lighting design by Amy Hadley.