FOREVER PLAID delivers 90 minutes of fast-paced musical comedy with 29 popular songs of the 50's and 60's performed by four hilarious male harmony singers. It's a guaranteed great night out. PLAYWRIGHT'S NOTE: When most of us think of the 1950's, we think of rock 'n' roll, greasers, hot rods, Elvis, Annette, Fabian, D.A. haircuts and teenage rebellion. But there was a flip side to this era: the side of harmony, innocence and the sincerity of dreams. It is the side that's been lost in the shuffle of progress. It was a time when most parents and kids listened and danced to the same music; when families partook of the ritual of gathering in front of the TV to watch their favorite variety shows, like The Ed Sullivan Show or The Perry Como Show. It was a time when every family worked hard to fulfill the American dream. It was a period when four-part guy groups harmonized their way across the airwaves, jukeboxes and hi-fis of the country. Throughout the land they would stand at a quartet of microphones, crooning a multitude of chaperoned prom-goers into dreamy romance. They wore dinner jackets and bow ties (or perhaps cardigans and white bucks). Each move was drilled to precision. Each vocal arrangement soared to stratospheric heights of harmony. This sound crested right before rock 'n' roll stole the heartbeat of music across the globe. During
this time, guys across the country banded together to sing in the
basement for fun. If things worked out they might be hired to sing at
weddings, conventions, proms and country club socials. Inspired by the
success of the recording stars, they made plans to zoom into careers of
This is the story of such a group -- Forever Plaid. Once
upon a time, there were four guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie)
who loved
to sing. They all met in high school, when they joined the
audiovisual
club (1956). Discovering they shared an affection for music and
entertaining,
they got together and dreamed of becoming like their idols: The
Four Aces,
The Four Lads, The Four Freshmen, The Hi-Lo's and The Crew
Cuts. They
rehearsed in the basement of Smudge's family's plumbing supply
company.
It was there they became Forever Plaid: a name that stands for the
traditional
values of family, home and harmony. Although rock 'n' roll was
Feb. 9, 1964: En
route to pick up their custom-made plaid tuxedos, they were slammed
broadside
by a school bus filled with eager Catholic teens. The teens were on
their way
to witness the Beatles make their US television debut on The Ed
Through the Power of Harmony and the Expanding Holes in the Ozone Layer, in conjunction with the positions of the planets and all that astro-technical stuff, they are allowed to come back to perform the show they never got to do in life. And, having completed their Mission of Harmony, our men in plaid must return to the cosmos. Although they may be gone, through this production their dreams live on forever. --
Stuart Ross
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