Opening Thursday Feb. 21, the Spitfire Grill was serving up more than just pie.  The musical had it all including laughs, tears and music.

The Spitfire Grill, a musical put on by the UND Theatre department, depicts the heartfelt story of a small town and its citizens.

The show was directed by Emily Cherry, head of the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at UND. It was a hit, receiving a standing ovation on numerous nights of its run.

The show starred Bethany Springs as Percy, Karter Dolan as Caleb, Courtney Miller as Hannah, Cole Bakke as Joe, Gina Uhlir as Shelby, Katie Gerain as Effy, and Robert Cooper as Eli.

The musical took place in a small-town diner. The story follows Percy, who recently got out of jail, as she rediscovers the good of her heart. Getting a job at the local diner, the Spitfire Grill, thanks to Sheriff Joe’s persuasion, she is forced to deal with the gossip of the small town. When the diner’s owner, the sassy Hannah Ferguson, falls and breaks her hip, Percy now has to run the diner by herself with the help of Shelby, Hannah’s nephew’s wife. Through the ups and downs of their adventure running the diner, they come up with the idea to raffle off the diner since Hannah wants to get rid of it anyway. Against some of the townspeople’s opinion, Hannah decides to go along with the girls’ idea to raffle off the Spitfire Grill.

The play showcased music played under the direction of Music Director/Conductor Titus Kautz. Each song sung by the vocals that make up this cast.

The setting of the play was designed to truly immerse the audience in the story. The set and lighting was designed by Brad Reissig. The Technical Director and Sound Designer was Loren J. Liepold and the Costume Designer was Elise Christy.

The play was shown in the Burtness Theatre’s Black Box Theatre creating an intimate show. It made the audience feel  like they were sitting at a table of the diner while watching the performance.

The show ran from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23 and again from Feb.28 to March 2  starting at 7:30 pm.

The show had another unique element to it. At each showing there was an option to choose a ‘pie seat’. This meant that you would be able to sit in a reserved seat closest to the stage and be served your choice of pie from the cast’s very own Hannah Ferguson, who is the owner of the Spitfire Grill in the story.

The musical gave the audience a heartfelt joy ride where love, friendship, and family all shone through.