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Forever Plaid
Written and originally directed and choreographed by
Stuart Ross
Directed and choreographed by Paul Pement
At Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook
100 Drury Lane
Oakbrook Terrace, IL
Call 630-530-0111, tickets $22 - $41.50
Wednesdays at 1:30 PM
Thursdays at 1:30 PM
Fridays at 8:30 PM
Saturdays at 5 & 8:30 PM
Sundays at 2:30 & 7 PM
Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission
Through December 17, 2006
Harmonies soar in smooth Plaid remount
I’m a long-time “Plaidster” who still admires hearing fine tunes delivered with golden voices working together to produce splendid harmonies. That is the essence of this cute, innocent little musical that is more revue than story but long on nostalgia and 1950’s pop music. Drury Lane Oakbrook knows a winner and Forever Plaid has had fantastic success since it opened nationally in 1987. It has had more than 55 productions with long runs in most major cities, including Chicago. It and Nunsense are ‘cash-cows’ for theatre companies since audiences can’t get enough of these enjoyable shows. The trick with Forever Plaid is to cast slick, empathetic singers who are adept at comedy, sort of nerds with strong voices.
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Forever Plaid’s thin story involves four young guys, Frankie (Thad S. Avery), Sparky (Jason Bayle), Smudge (Dan Guller) and Jinx (Stephen Wallem) who have formed a harmony singing group (The Plaids). This is a part-time endeavor that has promise for the younger adults. While en route to pick up their custom-made plaid tuxedos for their first big gig, they are tragically killed when their car gets broadsided by a bus filled with Catholic teen girls on their way to see the Beatles in 1964. We meet the Plaids as they miraculously appear in the theatre 42 years later to fulfill their dream of doing the concert that they were preparing in 1964.
These Plaids quickly win our hearts with their rich voices and their genuine wholesomeness. Their innocence and quirky comic moments enhance the terrific assortment of 50’s pop music they sing. We enjoy the well know tunes so marvelously sung and enhanced by Kevin Disch’s fine piano and Scott Rosenthal’s bass. The greatest hits include “Cry,” “ Gotta Be This or That,” “Magic Moments, “ “Moments to Remember” and “Three Coins in the Fountain.” Add funny bits with tunes like “Matilda,” “Perfidia” and “Jamaica Farewell” and The Plaids give a tribute to 50’s nostalgia.
Groups like The Four Aces, The Four Lads and The Four Freshman were their idols. The four guys I saw at Drury Lane Oakbrook combine stellar singing talent with outstanding comic instincts as the perform a tribute to Perry Como with “Catch a Falling Star.” They also do a manic bit about “The Ed Sullivan TV Show” that is filled with fast-paced funny vaudevillian stunts.
This show is 90 minutes of excellent songs and clever comedy designed to please and smooth the heart. It is marvelously performed as it offers a nice take on those quaint days before the upheaval of the 1960’s. All trips down memory lane should be as harmless as this one. Younger folks will marvel at the tuneful melodies and harmonies of that era.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2006
Jeff Recommended
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