Forever
Plaid
By Stuart Ross
Directed by Chris Eubank
July
12 - August 4
Jinx - Chris Eubank
Francis - John Tilford
Sparky - Jeff Chandler
Smudge - Mike Allen
Choreography - Heather Johnson
Synopsis
Once upon a time, there were four guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and
Frankie) who loved to sing. They all met in high school, when they
joined the audiovisual club (1956). Discovering they shared an
affection for music and entertaining, they got together and dreamed of
becoming like their idols - The Four Aces, The Four Lads, The Four
Freshmen, The Hi-Los and The Crew Cuts. They rehearsed in the basement
of Smudge's family's plumbing supply company. It was here they became
Forever Plaid - a name that connects the continuation of traditional
values of family, home and harmony.
Although rock 'n' roll was racing down the fast lane like a candy apple
"vette", they believed in their music. As their sound developed, they
sang at family gatherings, fund-raisers, and eventually graduated to
supermarket openings and proms. They had little time for romance or
leisure for they supported their fantasy by holding down day jobs -
Frankie was in dental supplies, Smudge was in bathroom fixtures, Sparky
was in better dresses. They devoted themselves to singing at nights and
on weekends. Then, finally, they landed their first big gig at the
Airport Hilton cocktail bar - The Fusel Lounge.
February 9, 1964 En route to pick up their custom-made plaid tuxedos,
they were slammed broadside by a school bus filled with eager Catholic
teens. The teens were on their way to witness the Beatles make their
U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show and miraculously escaped
uninjured. The members of Forever Plaid were killed instantly. It is at
that moment, when their careers and lives ended, that the story of
FOREVER PLAID begins.
Through the powers of harmony and the Expanding Holes in the Ozone
Layer, in conjunction with the positions of the planets and all the
astrotechnical stuff, they never got to do in life.
And having completed their Mission of Harmony, our men in plaid must
return to the cosmos. Although they may be gone, thorough this
production their dreams live on forever.
--Stuart Ross
