Vanguard Theater Opens Season with THE SPITFIRE GRILL, November 4- 20

The Vanguard Theater kicks off its second season with the heartwarming musical drama, The Spitfire Grill. The show runs November 4 - 20, 2022 with performances Thursdays through Sundays at 8pm and Saturdays at 2pm. There is a preview performance on Thursday, November 3rd. Vanguard Theater is located at 180 Bloomfield Avenue. Tickets are $30-$50. The show is directed by Tony Award Nominee (Excellence in Education 2022) and Founding Artistic Director, Janeece Freeman Clark, with music direction by Andy Hudson.

Channeling musicals like Once and Come From Away, The Spitfire Grill serves up comfort and respite from a complicated world, with a beautiful score that is a hybrid mix of folk, blues, and bluegrass. Based on the award-winning film, The Spitfire Grill has become one of the most produced plays in the nation since its debut in 2000. Its creators, Valcq and Alley, envisioned this show finding its home with regional theatres because of the story's rural and hometown feel.

"Soulful and transcendent. It is not often that material moves me to tears, but this was one of those occasions. What even in normal times would be a joy is, in these troubled ones, sheer nourishment." - John Simon, New York Magazine

The show does a wonderful job of reminding us that girls and women can be the authors of their own fate; that they can make their own mistakes and learn from them, that they can change and grow, rise and fall, - and rise again - without the need of a male savior. The story also reminds us that no matter where we are in our journey, we should always be amenable to change. Indeed, change is one of the only things we can count on in life.

When asked why The Spitfire Grill was chosen as one of the shows in the company's second season, Freeman Clark says, "When I first came upon The Spitfire Grill, I was so moved by the spirit of hope and its transformative power upon the entire tree-lined town of Gilead, Wisconsin. The story centers around women: women's lives, women's pain, women's burdens, women's joys, women's power, women's desires, and women's strength in numbers. The three women whose stories are at the forefront of The Spitfire Grill - Percy, Hannah, and Shelby - are all locked away in their own personal prisons- locked away in their pain, fear, loneliness, and regret - and estranged from their very own hopes and dreams. But together these women find their voices, the power of forgiveness and redemption, and FAMILY.

"...walks a straight, serene line between loss and redemption, with characters bursting into anthems along the way to serve as friendly signposts of spiritual development." - The New York Times

Virginia Ann Woodruff* (BROADWAY: VIOLET, LEAP OF FAITH, THE COLOR PURPLE, ALL SHOOK UP, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ, and numerous National Tours) leads the cast of Vanguard Theater's opening production of its Mainstage Professional Season, The Spitfire Grill. Sabrina Cabrera, recently seen in Light Opera of New Jersey's "In the Heights," makes her Vanguard Theater debut as Percy, with Julie Galorenzo* as Effy, Gina Milo* as Shelby, Luke Darnell* as Caleb, and Zack Abbey as Sherrif Joe. *Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association. Rounding out Vanguard Theater's Mainstage season are Passing Strange (Feb. 16 - Mar. 5), Cabaret (April 13 - 30), and Spring Awakening (June 15 - July 2).

"The theme running through Vanguard's Mainstage season is how we connect with our communities, eventually finding the embrace of home within ourselves. Whether it's running away from home, or finding a place to call home, all of the pieces we selected this season ask the characters to find deep meaning in how they relate to their environment, and how that impacts their sense of self. This could not be a better time to highlight and spotlight some of the many organizations that provide refuge and a safe space for so many in our own communities," says Jessica Sporn, Managing Director of Vanguard Theater.

Purchase tickets at bit.ly/ticketsVTC. Individual and membership subscription tickets are available.

Founded in 2015, Vanguard Theater Company is a unique 501(c)(3) committed to changing social and cultural narratives through theater dedicated to DREAM: Diversity, Reciprocity, Education, Activism & Mentorship. Having just completed its first full year in its new home in Montclair, Vanguard Theater has quickly become a destination for great professional theater, inspired community collaborations, excellent youth programming, and more. Manifest star Geraldine Leer recently named Vanguard Theater as one of her favorite artistic destinations in Montclair, and, to quote Jay Lustig, reviewer for NJ Stages, "This is the third Vanguard Theater show I've reviewed since it opened its new Montclair space last year, and I've been impressed by them all." Vanguard looks forward to continuing its reputation for excellent theater and impactful community dialogue as it begins its second full season in Montclair, NJ.

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