Community theater dresses things up with ‘Plaid’
No solids, stripes or spots can compare to “Forever Plaid” at the Old Barn Theatre in Collinston.
After doing so well in the first time in 2000, the musical is getting an encore performance this year with its original cast in a run from Feb. 14 to March 8.
“Immediately after we did it, people were asking us to do it again,” said Gary Willden, the director of the show. “People wanted the same guys to do it, and we’re all getting older, so it was now or never.”
In the director’s notes of the program, Willden wrote, “The fact that we have an RN as an accompanist gave me the courage I needed to go with the cast that performed the show in 2000. I figured she could revive us if we passed out.”
“Forever Plaid” is about four singers who die on the way to their first big performance. They come back to earth 39 years later and must perform their show or be stuck in musical limbo forever.
Frankie, Jinx, Smudge and Sparky take the dust covers off their microphones to “complete their mission of harmony” so they can “be at peace though all eternity.”
The entire cast is the four men, an announcer and two musicians, but the interactive nature of the show keeps the audience entertained.
“I love the show because of its innocence,” said Willden, who played Frankie in the musical. “It takes us back to a time when gas prices were low and the only thing you had to worry about was if your girl was going to go out with you that weekend. There’s a lot of humor in the show.”
Much of the humor relates to the age of the bodies of the men. They left earth in their prime and return in bodies nearly four decades older.
The Plaids had never released an album before their deaths, but they had designed several album covers, including The Good, the Plaid and the Ugly, Plaids go Calypso and their Christmas album, Plaid Tidings.
“Forever Plaid” also features the entire Ed Sullivan show “in under four minutes,” where the cast members perform in fast motion.
Those who attend can learn the Plaid Salute and sign their names in the “Plaid Book of Life.”
“It’s good, low-cost, wholesome entertainment,” said Evan Maxfield, who plays Smudge in the show. “It’s something that people can feel comfortable in. They don’t have to dress up, but they get good entertainment.”
The quartet performs 33 songs in the musical, including “Day-O” and “Papa Loves Mambo.” Music and memories are what keep people coming, Maxfield said.
“The music’s from a fun era that’s a lot of fun to listen to,” he said. “It ties humor in with music, and it’s just a walk down memory lane. People like that, and they come to have a good laugh.”
The four actors began preparing for this encore performance in August and rehearsed one or two nights a week, Maxfield said. He estimates that they each put in more than 100 hours of training each.
The Old Barn Theatre is a non-profit organization. Everyone involved is a volunteer, and the donations and ticket prices go back into the theater.
Tickets cover about two-thirds of the theater’s bills, and donations make up the rest, Willden said.
Nearly 100 families in the community have donated to the theater. Some have given $25, and others donate in the thousands.
“We just purchased a new sound board,” he said. “Each year, we get a little bit better. First we rented everything, and now we pretty much own all of the equipment, except the speakers.”
Last year was the first in which the 3-year-old organization finished with money to spare — $18.34 to be exact, Willden said.
The theater is run by an 11-member board of directors. Each member has a job — from ads to props to concessions — and they all take turns being producers of the shows, Willden said.
Maxfield said The Old Barn Theatre is here to stay.
“It has enough community support now that I think it will stick around,” Maxfield said. “It keeps hanging in there.”
Auditions for the next performance, “Bye Bye Birdie,” will be March 25 and 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. Families are encouraged to audition together for the show, which will run June 12 through July 5, according to www.oldbarn.org.
“Forever Plaid” runs just under two hours, including a 10-minute intermission and shows on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. The only matinee performance is Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for seniors and children under the age of 12. For more information, visit the Web site.
–kcartwright@cc.usu.edu