Monday, December 6, 2010
PLAID TIDINGS: A True Holiday Delight
David Brannen. Photos by Henry DiRocco.
The “Lads in Plaid” are back and everything is four-part harmony heaven in Plaid Tidings – A Special Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid onstage now at The Old Globe in San Diego. This is the delightful holiday follow-up tale of Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie from Forever Plaid who met in high school, formed their own squeaky clean singing group, and then lost their lives when they were involved in an accident with a busload of Catholic school girls en route to see “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
In Plaid Tidings the boys are transported from the great beyond back to earth for the holidays and, spurred on by a heavenly phone call from fellow angel Rosemary Clooney, they decide that this must be their big chance to spread some cheer by manifesting their über dream…their very own Christmas television show.
The show is pure fun from top to bottom and if you’ve never experienced the Plaids’ special brand of humor then, by gosh and by golly, this is your chance to return to the innocence of a simpler time and watch as four of the good guys do their best to help the world be a better place. It’s the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit from writer, director and choreographer Stuart Ross.
The cast includes two former Old Globe Grinches - Leo Daignault as the nervous, nosebleed-prone but absolutely endearing Jinx (he also originated the role of Jinx in Plaid Tidings at Pasadena Playhouse) and David Brannen as Jinx’s mischievous step-brother Sparky. Jinx can only be convinced to sing by pretending they are still rehearsing in Smudge’s dad’s basement using giant plungers as microphones in a gorgeous version of “Life Could Be A Dream," and though Sparky is a clown on the outside, his story of the Christmas Cardigan and how the Plaids almost sang back up to Perry Como is as heartwarming as they come.
They are joined by Jason Heil as Smudge, the worrier of the group who can’t see without his glasses (yes, there’s mileage and laughs to be had there, especially as he stumbles, literally, through “Let it Snow”), and Michael Winther as Frankie, the humble leader of the group who always keeps the boys on track, even though his asthma tends to act up when things get a little too rambunctious. His hysterical monologue and attempt at singing “Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer” is a revelation of insight into the life of a great reindeer and as Frankie says with all sincerity at the end of it, “Rudolph, you’d have made a great Plaid.”
Musically the foursome is in top form, and the arrangements done by James Raitt, Brad Ellis, Raymond Berg and David Snyder are sheer perfection. Among my favorites were a beautiful four-part version of “The Christmas Song,” a comedic laugh-out-loud “Besame Mucho” featuring Jinx, a fun audience sing-a-long “Matilda, Matilda” (she take my money and go Christmas shopping), and a fantastic scat Christmas medley that opened the second act.
And it goes without saying that their Ed Sullivan Show medley brings down the house, their hand bell number “Carol of the Bells” is a ringer with the audience, and the hilarious hip hop “Twaz Tha Nite B4 Xmas” features the boys’ bodies possessed with sound of a new kind of music. Musicians Steven Withers on piano and Tim Christensen on bass complete the musical sound.
According to program notes, Stuart Ross wrote Plaid Tidings following 9/11 after being approached by the Pasadena Playhouse. Previously resistant to making a sequel, which he felt was something made for the movies, he finally decided to instead create a holiday version of Forever Plaid, which has evolved into the production now playing at the Globe. Happily, it is just what we need to regain the optimism and spirit of a season that reminds us the world can be a better place if we only help make it that way.
Make sure you get your heaping helping of holiday cheer as Plaid Tidings continues its run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre at The Old Globe through December 26th. For tickets go to www.theoldglobe.org/ or call (619) 23-GLOBE.
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Sunday, February 2, 2014
Review: Cabrillo Music Theatre Paints the Town FOREVER PLAID
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| Scott Dreier, Roger Befeler, Jeffrey Scott Parsons and Kurtis Simmons Photos by Ed Krieger |
Four guys who know there’s nothing better than being inside a good tight chord are working their extraordinary vocal magic in Stuart Ross’ Forever Plaid at Cabrillo Music Theatre. With incredible musicianship and a flawless blend, these clean-cut dapper lads are a dream for the roughly 90-minutes they cover some of the greatest hits of the 1950’s.
These are the good guys, Frankie (Roger Befeler), Sparky (Jeffrey Scott Parson), Jinx (Kurtis Simmons) and Smudge (Scott Dreier), who spent their formative years singing in four-part harmony like their idols, The Four Freshmen and The Four Aces, and dreaming of the day they’d be able to cut their own records. They were on the verge of their big break when a busload of Catholic schoolgirls on their way to the Ed Sullivan Show to see the Beatles’ U.S. debut broadsided the boys and they were killed instantly.
Now, due to a metaphysical rift in the Ozone Layer, and who knows what other harmonically converged circumstances, the boys have been deposited back on earth, fifty years later, for the show they never got to do in life.
Once they realize it, the cavalcade of hits never stops and in between, we get to know them better, quirks and all. Jinx is the shy one with the sweet tenor voice, prone to nosebleeds if he sings too high, and Simmons makes a lovable wallflower. His stepbrother, Sparky, is an energetic spark plug who wears a retainer and loves to joke around. When Parsons is in the groove he’s an adorable comedian who knows how to get a laugh, though there are times he works a little too hard for the joke and it comes off less than genuine.
As the Plaids’ leader, Frankie, Befeler’s boy-next-door charm works beautifully to keep the guys moving through their big show while also cluing the audience in on their back story. His personal affliction is asthma, which hits whenever things get going too fast, but it never keeps him down for long. Before you know it, he’s back with a big grin and a lead-in to another terrific song. Smudge makes the most dramatic change over the course of the show and Dreier plays him with a dead serious intensity that is hilarious. He worries about everything, can’t keep his choreography straight, and is sure he has an ulcer. When he finally busts out in “Rags To Riches” near the end of the show it is incredibly satisfying for the audience to see him come into his own.
Plaid expert Larry Raben (one of the original Plaids) directs the Cabrillo production with the kind of masterful insight that only an insider can bring. His keen eye for precision makes the intricate staging seem effortless and its efficiency highlights the comedy inherent in each character. Add to that the exquisite sound that musical director Alby Potts achieves and this show is guaranteed to melt hearts.
Rarely have the use of dynamics and a group’s ability to color words been so instantly rewarding for an audience. When they lock in on the close harmonies, the sound vibrates like one shimmering voice, making songs like “Moments To Remember,” “No, Not Much,” “Shangri La,” and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” trigger an immediate visceral response. If you love music, this is a musician’s dream come true.
Innocent, smart, earnest and lovingly retro, the show is a breath of fresh air that turns back the dial from our more cynical modern day point of view and allows for a good-natured evening of fun. Best moments range from intimate stories like Smudge telling the audience how he got his 45 record collection, and the story of Perry Como and the golden cardigan, to a tough guy medley that includes “Sixteen Tons” and “Chain Gang.”
In one of the funniest scenes, the boys reenact the crazy novelty acts and entertainers on the Ed Sullivan show in short, almost manic, sequences that baby boomers will especially appreciate, and in another, giant bathroom plungers become the prop du jour for a song that they never got to rehearse with real microphones when they were alive.
Best of all, you can see Forever Plaid more than once and find it just as funny and heartwarming as the first time. With its many charms, this forever foursome is a match made in musical heaven.
FOREVER PLAID
January 31 - February 9, 2014
Cabrillo Music Theatre
Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd in Thousand Oaks
Tickets: (805) 449-ARTS (2787) or
www.cabrillomusictheatre.com
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Labels: cabrillo music theatre