The Spreckels Theatre turns “Plaid” Nov. 17 through Dec. 3. As both an alternative and prelude to the same old holiday fare, Broadway/San Diego presents “Plaid Tidings,” created and directed by Stuart Ross, the innovator behind the close-harmony guy-group sensation, “Forever Plaid.”
Those who know “Forever Plaid” don’t need a back-story; for everyone else, it goes like this: The show evolved from a cabaret act put together by Ross, the late arranger James Raitt, and some friends. The first incarnation was performed in Rochester in 1988 and became a cabaret act at Steve McGraw’s supper club in New York the following year.
“We did it all for free,” said David Engel, one of the original Plaids. “We all made props and did the laundry and ironing ourselves. We got these nasty, white-plaid jackets, the only thing we could find, and with Magic Markers we colored the plaid.
“We took flyers to theaters and left them all over the place so people would come see this little show that we thought was cute and funny, but it was really a hard sell, because it was about these four dead guys who sing elevator music.”
The Plaids were so endearing that the show caught on, attracted a producer, and six months later was expanded to a full-length musical that played the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and then was produced at the Old Globe, where it created such a sensation it played two engagements, the first in 1991 and the second in 1992.
Smudge, Jinx, Frankie and Sparky are best pals, having met in high school audio/visual class. Emulating the Four Lads, they formed a vocal quartet and rehearsed in Smudge’s basement, working up an act with aspirations to sing on “The Perry Como Show.” They were on their way to a breakthrough gig in the Satellite Lounge at the local Howard Johnson’s when they were hit and killed by a busload of Catholic schoolgirls on the way to see the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
When “Forever Plaid” opens, the Four Plaids find themselves back on earth, apparently given a chance to sing the program they never did in life. The show is filled with delights, including a wild tribute to “The Ed Sullivan Show” and numbers like “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing,” “Perfidia,” “Three Coins in the Fountain,” and “Moments to Remember.”
At the request of Pasadena Playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps, “Plaid Christmas” evolved out of “Forever Plaid” beginning in 2001, even though Ross said he’d never, ever write a sequel. “We created some new songs, but it’s pretty much the same format,” said Ross. “Only the guys aren’t as virginal as they were.” In addition to Pasadena, where it played for four years, “Plaid Tidings” was produced in Cleveland, Vancouver, Buffalo, and Cincinnati. It plays at holiday time in Las Vegas, where “Forever Plaid” has played 4,500 performances in 12 years.
The San Diego company includes Engel, Stan Chandler and Larry Raben, all original Plaids, plus San Diegan David Humphrey.
Performances take place at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Spreckels Theatre, Broadway at First Avenue. No performance Thanksgiving Day, but there are added performances that week, at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 20, and 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 22. View schedule details and purchase tickets at www.broadwaysd.com or phone (619) 570-1100 or (619) 220-TIXS.