Forever Plaid at The Ruth

Last night I went to see Forever Plaid at The Ruth and it is both heartwarming and entertaining.  On February 9, 1961, Smudge (Chase Petersen), Jinx (Andrew Walker), Sparky (Isaac Moss), and Frankie (Carter McEwan), the members of a four-part harmony group called Forever Plaid, are killed on their way to their very first paying gig at the Airport Hilton cocktail lounge.  However, they are given the opportunity to come back and perform the show they never got to do in life.  Their setlist is incredibly nostalgic (the older gentleman sitting next to me knew the words the every single song) and it includes "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Gotta Be This or That," "Moments to Remember," "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby," "No, Not Much," "Perfidia," "Cry," "Catch a Falling Star," "Heart and Soul," "Scotland the Brave," "Shangri-La," "Rags to Riches," and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."  My favorite numbers were "Sixteen Tons" which is hilarious and "Lady of Spain" because they recreate all of the famous acts from the Ed Sullivan Show in three minutes (I laughed out loud when one of them pretends to be a seal balancing a ball on his nose).  I also really loved a medley of songs that they are able to perform at various private functions (they even handed out business cards to members of the audience).  The four of them harmonize beautifully and their vocal performance is definitely the highlight of the show but, in between the musical numbers, there is a lot of funny banter about meeting in their high school's audio-visual club, practicing in the back room of a plumbing supply store, and dealing with their individual idiosyncrasies (the show is interrupted by a nose bleed at one point). The elaborate, and often amusing, choreography is a lot of fun to watch and I especially loved the use of plungers in "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby" and Sparky's flamboyant kicks in "Perfidia."  The minimal set is dominated by light panels, in a checkerboard pattern on the floor and in circles of different sizes on the backdrop, which change color throughout the show (I loved the plaid pattern on the floor during "Scotland the Brave").  There is also a large platform for the piano (played by Anne Puzey) and bass (played by Mathieu Foley) as well as smaller ones used for solo performances.  The costumes include white dinner jackets during Act I and then they are ceremonially given the plaid tuxedos that they were to have worn during their original concert in Act II.  This is a feel-good show that is sure to put a smile on your face and I recommend getting a ticket (go here) to one of the performances in the Lindsay Legacy Theatre through March 28.

Note:  Forever Plaid was the first show I saw at the brand new Hale Theatre.