Reviewed by Joe Montague
Forever Plaid / Presented by Musical Theatre Mississauga / at Meadowvale Theatre / Mississauga, ON
The
last two decades have seen the rise and fall, and rise again of rappers and
hip-hop artists, lone DJs and MCs whose rhymes and beats have forever
emblazoned their words on the hearts of some, and outright offended others.
Before that we had heavy metal dudes such as, Guns ‘n’ Roses and Aerosmith,
even further back Led Zepplein. The 1960’s saw the birth of girl groups, The
Ronettes (“Be My Baby”), The Dixie Cups (“Chapel Of Love”) and The Shirelles
(“Mama Said,” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”), there was Motown and there
was the British Invasion, but there was a time when guy groups, with
splendid harmonies dominated the charts in America, and Forever Plaid,
the off Broadway production written by Stuart Ross in 1990 is a tribute to
those groups. Recently Forever Plaid was presented by Music Theatre
Mississauga at the Meadowvale Theatre, and under the capable direction of
director David Charchalis, Musical Director Triz Remedios, Arron Smaller
(Choreographer) and Producer Pat Brown, the Plaids, consisting of Smudge
(Dan Berthe), Jinx (Michael Sumbler), Frankie (David O’Hearn) and Sparky
(Dave Martin) were brought back to life one more time.
Although the theatre seats only 395 it is a world class facility and that is what immediately gains your attention, as you enter the venue for the first time, and you note the spacious curved stage that has both sufficient depth and width to stage musicals properly, the fact that the seats are actually comfortable and the sightlines are good from pretty well any vantage point in the theatre. The cast fully utilized the stage, with song and dance numbers such as “Moments To Remember,” as the Doo Wop Girls, Cadence (Ginny Metcalfe), Harmony (Katie Lai), Allegra (Gillian Rodrigue) and Melody (Samantha Limberger), joined the men on stage.
In this reviewer’s opinion, Dave Martin as Sparky stole the show, as he naturally exuded a charm that was particularly evident when he left the stage to sing “Perfidia,” to one of the women in the audience. Martin, who in real life is a member of a classic rock band, did a superb job with his vocal performance of Perry Como’s “Catch A Falling Star.”
The harmonies were often not as tight as they needed to be to pull off the illusion of guy groups such as The Crew Cuts and others, but each time one of the four Plaids took his turn soloing and the other three drifted comfortably into the role of providing background vocals, the group more than held their own. This was the case when Dan Berthe’s deep voice was stellar on “Sixteen Tons,” (a song that “Tennessee” Ernie Ford turned into a # 1 hit in 1955) and he was bold in his presentation, removing his tux jacket and puffing out his chest.
David O’Hearn who has those Frankie Avalon looks and a charm to match, was solid in performing Sam Cooke’s “Chain Gang,” and his acting left you feeling that he was born half a century too late, because he was so “in the moment,” with his portrayal of Frankie, throughout the musical, both with his acting and singing.
The fourth member of the Plaids, Jinx, played by Michael Sumbler does not possess the same vocal strength as O’Hearn and Martin, but his acting was very good and he brings a natural physical comedy to the stage.
A hilarious, side-splitting medley of Caribbean flavored songs had the audience laughing, as beach balls were bounced from one patron to another, while the cast, dressed in brightly colored attire sang and danced their way up and down the aisles of the theatre.
The musical’s storyline, for those who are not familiar with Forever Plaid, concerns a guy harmony group from the fifties who are killed in an automobile accident while they are on their way to perform. We meet our four entertainers when they find themselves stuck somewhere between the afterlife and earth. They are given somewhat of a reprieve, or a second chance, to perform the concert to which they were heading at the time of the accident.
We would be remiss if we did not mention the trio of musicians who performed live, upright bassist Chris Urdel, drummer Mike Kawabe and pianist / conductor Triz Remedios. They brought elegant styling to the songs.
If Forever Plaid is an example of the type of musicals that Musical Theatre Mississauga produces, we should be excited, as we anticipate the opening of Thoroughly Modern Millie on November 20th.
Reviewed October 27th, 2009
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Riveting Riffs Magazine would like to thank Music Theatre Mississauga and in particular Marlene Taylor for making it possible for us to review this musical.
