Review: FOREVER PLAID at Fulton Theatre

Fulton Theatre finishes out its fourth-floor season with the tuneful Forever Plaid. This Off-Broadway revue stars a quartet of heavenly musicians brought back from the afterlife for one final show.  Although the cast was consistently enthusiastic and talented, the production will probably best be appreciated by the most senior of audience members.

Jonathan Arana, Will Stephan Connell, Sam Nagel and Eddie Olmo II star as the four members of “The Plaids”, Sparky, Jinx, Smudge, and Frankie.  The cast has excellent harmony, and their voices shined even if some of the score wasn’t instantly recognizable.

You might know some of the songs from popular movies, such as “Day-O” from Beetlejuice, or “Love is a Many Splendid Thing” from the pre-credit scene of Grease.  But others, such as “Perdida’ and “Scotland the Brave” may be altogether unfamiliar.  Similarly, specific references to celebrities like Perry Como and Ed Sullivan might go over the heads of those who did not live through their heyday.

As a side note, I am over 50 years old, so I don’t think my opinion can be categorized as some sort of “OK Boomer” youth backlash.  Furthermore, I’m also a fan of several other musicals that feature the hits of the same era such as Million Dollar Quartet and Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story. Instead, I think the problem is that the score doesn’t necessarily hold up as well as it did in the 1950’s or even from the show’s 1989 Off-Broadway premiere..

Direction and choreography by Fran Prisco was enjoyable.  The choice to consolidate the show’s two acts into an intermission-less 90 minute run time helped enhance the show’s pace and momentum. Karen Waddill is impressive as the on-stage conductor and pianist.  Similarly, Mike Vitale really knows how to work the bass

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