The actors in The Spitfire Grill have had a grand time playing together this summer, so we asked a few insider questions (and edited out the spoilers). Read how their responses stack up, and see who's possibly gotten a little too close for comfort...
Who's Playing Who? (A short guide to names mentioned below)
Who’s the Spitfire in The Spitfire Grill?
ALIX: Elinor Holt, OF COURSE!
NATE: I’d have to say Hannah is the Spitfire, she named it after all.
CASSIA: Hannah – for sure!
TRAVIS: Hannah
ELINOR: Shelby! And in the band, Julie!
MARIE: The fierce spirit of compassion that is brave enough to start and continue the journey of forgiveness and acceptance.
PAUL: Percy! No question, it’s Percy! She’s the catalyst for the whole story!
What’s the secret in the sauce?
ALIX: It ain’t called SPITfire for no good reason.
ELINOR: Wild Turkey
TRAVIS: Ketchup/mayo/lemon juice
CASSIA: Rosebud water
MARIE: Understanding how little we have to lose when we leap and make the choice to love...
NATE: You know, I think it’s pickles and chipotle peppers.
PAUL: You add a dash of love and a pinch of forgiveness, and YUM!
What’s the worst thing on the menu?
ALIX: Anything that Percy has made. Don’t let her in the kitchen.
ELINOR: The coffee. But it’s the only grill in town, so put up and shut up!
TRAVIS: Jellied Hotdog Salad
CASSIA: The corn beef hash. Even when Hannah makes it.
MARIE: Percy’s sunny-side-up eggs. They have instantly grown a velvety mould on their surface, thanks to the genius of props people! Ewwww.
PAUL: Caleb!
NATE: The spelling
What song got cut from the play?
ALIX: The one that ends with a kissing scene.
CASSIA: All of Eli’s solos.
TRAVIS: “I can’t quit you” – Caleb sings to Joe.
MARIE: Effy’s Revenge – a little dream sequence piece about catching everyone in a fraud ring and being awarded The Spitfire Grill as an annex to the post office (secretly a CIA outpost).
NATE: Shelby had a bluesy song about how she wishes she was single again.
PAUL: A song got cut from the play? Crap! Why didn’t anyone tell me? I’m still doing them all!
What crime would you commit if you could get away with it?
CASSIA: It’s not a hard core crime – but there are a lot of places I would trespass.
ELINOR: Hm. Tough one. Can one ever get away from something? With something?... Maybe… so, I would like to get away with Travis’s old truck… or Cassia’s vocal chords so that I could be an amazing belting soprano with cool wheels! Grand Theft/Throat Auto!
TRAVIS: Jay-walking
ALIX: I would love to rob a casino, Ocean’s Eleven style. I want to be cool like Brad Pitt and George Clooney!
MARIE: What’s the legal term for opening other people’s mail?
NATE: Stowaway – jumping on a boxcar and go where it goes for as long as it goes.
PAUL: Oh Heavens, I think I’ve committed enough crimes in my life already. I’m ready to retire from my life of crime!
Who has a secret they aren’t sharing? What is it?
ALIX: Definitely Joe and Effy. Have you SEEN their relationship on stage? Seems fishy to me.
CASSIA: Shelby. Ha! Sneaky! Still not telling. But there's a reason her dress is so baggy.
NATE: The cellist, Julie. She'd rather be dancing.
PAUL: Ummm, who doesn’t have a secret they aren’t sharing?
Favorite moment in the show that the audience doesn’t see?
ALIX: The choreography of ‘Diggin’ Stone’ that happens behind the flat. Elinor and I are the best back-up dancers to Paul Muir’s rocking song.
ELINOR: The backstage choreography for ‘Diggin’ Stone'. It is a sight to behold, even if I do say so myself.
CASSIA: Choreography for 'Diggin’ Stone'.
TRAVIS: Behind the flat choreo for 'Diggin’ Stone'.
NATE: I get to make eyes, across the stage, with my beautiful wife, during the woo-ing between Sheriff Joe and Percy.
MARIE: One of my favorite moments happens at the top of Act 1 before my first entrance. We’re like a team… coming out of the shoot – first Travis, then, a bar later, Paul, then at my time, me. I love love love being a small player in a great story alongside others. I’m not sure why that moment always heartens me.
PAUL: Oh gosh. At some point we [gotta] make a video of all the action that happens with the musicians. The 4-person guitar playing dance, Kait going back and forth between piano and accordion, it’s really active!
What’s the password to get into the after-hours Spitfire?
ALIX: “I brought applejack.”
ELINOR: Scrabble
NATE: B@c0N&3gg5
CASSIA: You can just open the door. It’s never locked.
TRAVIS: New England Clam Chowder
MARIE: The secret password passes by word of mouth and also continuously changes. Effy knows that the tactic is called “permanent transitionalism” and was a favorite method used by Sadam Hussein.
What’s the town of Gilead’s tourism motto?
ALIX: Gilead: Do our balms make you whole? See for yourself!
ELINOR: Gilead: A little piece of heaven right here on earth.
NATE: Gilead: What’s yours is Mine!
PAUL: Gilead: Home of the Colours of Paradise! (But they probably spell it the American way.)
CASSIA: Gilead: Your forgotten holiday
MARIE: Gilead: Miserable but Safe!
TRAVIS: Gilead: If you don’t have time to stop, smile as you drive by.