‘Forever Plaid’ featured at theater
Following this summer’s opener, “Dreamgirls,” West Virginia Public continues its season with the classic musical revue “Forever Plaid,” which runs from Tuesday through July 6 at the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center. The revue, by Stuart Ross, celebrates the delightfully goofy reincarnation of four male singers killed in a car crash on the way to their first big concert and now, miraculously, revived for a plaid-fabulous time for audiences everywhere. Singing in the closest of harmony, squabbling boyishly over the smallest intonations, the Plaids are a guaranteed smash with a series of well-loved songs and right-on patter that keep audiences laughing when they aren’t humming along to some of the great nostalgic pop hits of the 1950s.
“Forever Plaid” was written and originally directed/choreographed by Stuart Ross with musical arrangements by James Raitt. The show opened off-Broadway at Steve McGraw’s Theatre May 20, 1990, and since has been performed all over the globe. The revue even sparked a holiday sequel, “Plaid Tidings.’ Some of the musical numbers performed by the Plaids include 1950s favorites “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Chain Gang,” “Perfidia,” “Cry,” “Heart and Soul,” “Lady of Spain,” Rags to Riches,” and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.”
“Forever Plaid,’ runs Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The season continues with “West Side Story,’ from July 8 to July 13; “A Streetcar Named Desire,’ from July 15 to July 20; “Urban Cowboy,’ from July 22 to July 27; and “The Producers,’ from July 29 to Aug. 3.
For tickets, call 304-291-4122 (or toll free at 1-877-999-WVPT) or visit the WVPT box office in the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center.
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. WVPT performs at the CAC, which is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. More information can be obtained from WVPT’s Web site: www.wvpublictheatre.com.