AISLE SAY Chicago

FOREVER PLAID

Royal George Theater Center
1641 W. Halsted / (312) 988-9000

Reviewed by L.M. Stromer

Originally published in CENTERSTAGE.NET www.centerstage.net

Forever Plaid is a trip back in time, although given the current events when I saw it, it was also a comparison in American life over the past 35 years. That's a lot, considering Forever Plaid is a 90 minute fun, lively, and toe-tapping concert by a 4-man singing group who return from Heaven for this "one-night only" event.

Sparky and his step-brother, Jinx, and their friends Smudge and Frankie (Mark Forrest:understudy, Mark Meyers, Ryan K. Bailer, and Dan Matheson) were all part of the audio-visual club in high school. Their dream was to be the next Four Aces or Hi-Los, but on their way to the airport lounge for their first big gig, they are hit by a bus filled with Catholic virgins who are on their way to the Ed Sullivan show - to see the Beatles. The world is moving past them but they don't know it, nor does it much matter now. That innocence and hope is what makes the evening so fun and nostalgic, even for someone like me who hadn't spent a lot of time on earth yet by the time these 4 were heading towards Heaven. This show is just a delight for any age but for older audience members, I can only imagine the joy these memories bring back.

We learn the idiosyncrasies of these sweet guys, like how fear brings on nervous nosebleeds or the need for an inhaler just to keep breathing. The most important thing we learn is that they have glorious voices that blend beautifully. Jinx (Mark Meyers) has a tenor voice that is so clear and pure that my husband and I looked at each other with dropped jaws. He is new to the company, and at times did not seem quite as comfortable on stage as the others. I suspect that with just a few more performances under his belt, that will no longer be the case. And his voice is so remarkable that with those few more performances, he alone would be a reason to see the show. Ryan K. Bailer and Dan Matheson bring the audience into the fun right away, although they do break the illusion that these guys are just a few years out of high school. They look older than they ought to but their singing and acting make up for appearances. It doesn't help them that Mark Meyers does look like he is just out of high school. Paul Pement usually plays Sparky but the night we went we saw his understudy, Mark Forrest. Mr. Forrest's program bio states he's been an understudy for over three years, and his handling of the role shows it. He was charming and enormously fun to watch. The fact that these four voices had tremendous harmony is a testament to the music direction of Ben Johnson, who also plays piano during this "concert". Even with an understudy and a new actor, the voices blended seamlessly and the harmony was smooth.

There is a re-enactment of every act on the Ed Sullivan show, all in about 2 minutes. They jam pack plate twirlers, Jose Jimenez, a Wagnerian soprano, Senor Wencas and his famous gloved hand, and even Topo Gigio. It is extremely funny and brought back memories of my family and I watching the Ed Sullivan show together on Sundays. It was those kind of memories that made the show a bit different for me than had I seen the show at another time. The four guys mention losing some famous singers in plane crashes. It was at the end of a week that included the funeral services for JFK, Jr. That only made me realize, seeing a show set 1964 with 4 dead young men, that JFK, Jr's own father had already been assassinated, his Uncle Robert and Martin Luther King, Jr. would face untimely deaths, the Vietman War would divide this country, and I would lose my own parents too soon, even though I was only 5 in 1964. The fact I had something to ponder, even as I laughed my way out the theater, made this show something special for me. I'm sure most audience members simply have a great time and leave in a wonderful mood. If the show also makes you think about where you've been since 1964, it's a bonus. Either way, go see this show. It's peachy-keen.

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