Written by Lyla Lopez
Rehearsals for Harper Joy’s upcoming musical, The Spitfire Grill, are officially in full-swing! Our wonderful cast and crew are working hard each and every day to bring this amazing show to life. Amidst all this chaos and fun, I had the opportunity to chat with Spitfire cast member Stella Coomes and learn some more about the preparation that goes into a show like this.
Stella (she/her) is currently a senior Gender Studies major at Whitman College. She has been involved in Whitman’s theatre, dance, and music shows since the beginning of her freshman year and is currently the Student Box Office Manager at Harper Joy. “The Harper Joy is like my second home!” she says.
Stella was also involved with the Whitman Musical Theatre Project, a group that brought student-directed musicals to campus. The group, however, has been on hiatus since their 2023 production of Disaster: The Musical. Even so, there’s been no shortage of singing and dancing at Whitman! The Theater and Dance Department produces a musical theatre production during its mainstage season once every other year, with Bare: A Pop Opera (2023) being its most recent musical production. This year, with Spitfire’s run just around the corner, excitement and anticipation are building. The storylines, themes, and characters featured in this performance are incredibly compelling, and with opening night just eight days away, Stella was kind enough to take some time to give me her perspective on her own role in the show.
Lyla Lopez: Who do you play in The Spitfire Grill? Tell me a little bit about your character.
Stella Coomes: I play Percy Talbott, a recently incarcerated young woman who finds herself in a small town searching for community and belonging. She has a really intense and traumatic backstory, and is struggling to forgive herself and form connections with others. When she arrives in the town of Gilead, she is given a job at the local diner, and over the course of the story, she comes to find community, friendship, and even family in the people she meets there. Ultimately, it’s an uplifting story about forgiveness and love.
It’s clear that Spitfire is not a story to be treated lightly. A show like this demands that actors portray their characters thoughtfully and respectfully, and Stella has been doing her part to ensure just that.
LL: How are you preparing for this show? Why do you feel that it’s important for you to portray your character correctly?
SC: Percy is a character with a lot of layers. Oftentimes, when I am playing a character, I look for ways in which I can personally relate to them. However, with Percy, it’s really important to me that I recognize the ways in which she and I are different. When portraying someone on stage who has a different lived experience than you—especially one which can make you very vulnerable—you have to approach it with empathy and honesty. It’s easily the hardest role I have ever played. I want the audience to really see the complexity in her—not only the trauma, but also the goodness in her heart. I cry on stage almost every time we run the show!
How moving! Percy’s story is evidently an important one to be told. “This show is incredibly topical right now, especially here in Walla Walla, where many formerly incarcerated individuals live after being released from the Washington State Penitentiary,” Stella adds.
LL: Why do you think students and community members should come and see this show?
SC: The Harper Joy Theatre is putting a lot of work into community collaboration for this show, especially when it comes to including and uplifting [formerly] incarcerated voices. In the lobby, we will be hosting an art show consisting entirely of works made by folks incarcerated at the penitentiary, and we will also be holding a book drive to donate to their library. Additionally, we are hoping to have post-show discussions led by community members and Whitman faculty who do related work. Community is such an integral part of the message of this show, so it’s only right that we at Harper Joy pull our weight and encourage action in the world outside of the play as well!
You heard it here! The Spitfire Grill really is a special show—showing up for this performance means showing up for community, for camaraderie, and for those who don’t always have the chance to be seen. Make sure to catch Stella as Percy from May 8th–11th! Tickets are available now on the Harper Joy website.