‘Forever Plaid’ proves an unforgettable experience
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By ROSEMARY KILBRIDGE
Thursday, March 6, 2008 9:58 AM CST
For the Herald
Dressed in plaid, highlighted by tartan lighting, a rotating strobe and backed by a dynamite combo, local artists Rich Peterlick as Jinx, Jerry Way as Frankie, Tim Danielson as Sparky and Jerry Brost as Smudge, delivered a sparkling show featuring a variety of resurrected “fifties” pop tunes woven together by comedic shorts.
“Forever Plaid,” an off-Broadway musical comedy written in 1990 in New York and now performed internationally, debuted in Chippewa Falls on the evening of Friday, Feb. 7, continued Saturday night and closed with a Sunday sellout matinée.
I reviewer attended Saturday’s full-house performance and experienced the finest example of what community theater can be.
In the show’s opening moments, the audience learns via voice-over that the members of the close-harmony quartet en route to their first big gig at the Airport Hilton Cocktail Bar-the Fusel Lounge, are killed instantly, rammed by a school bus of teens on their way to New York to watch the Beatles’ debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The play miraculously returns the four lads from Shangri-La back to a 20th century stage for a one-night-only opportunity to perform the concert their tragic accident prevented.
Surprised to be alive and slightly hesitant when they first take the stage, the four quickly step into the shoes of their idol, Perry Como, moving through their initial songs, filled with the love and longing of youth, to a parody of the Ed Sullivan Show itself.
Songs such as “Three Coins in the Fountain” and “Crazy ‘Bout Ya, Baby” give way to “Kingston Market” and “Lady of Spain.” The Broadway-style review segues into a variety show featuring an accordion player, jugglers and Topo Giggio, the Italian mouse.
Saturday’s audience enjoyed a near show-stealing performance by Jerry Brost whose ketchup bottle anvil broke mid-tempo during a rendition of “Sixteen Tons,” he never missed a beat.
Backed by the very able trio of Judy Brist on the piano, Ross Wilson on bass and drummer Ron Gard, “Forever Plaid” delivered a show whose mood was both upbeat and sweetly nostalgic. Engaging the crowd from love songs to the rollicking Heart and Soul, Each of us left with a song in our heart.
Ross Wilson spoke for Chippewa Falls in his comments to me after the show.
“This is a classic example of why we are all here at the Heyde Center,” he said. “The cultural center is for and about the community, a chance to showcase the arts and the artists.”
This means marvelous talent, splendidly employed.
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