Scene It: FOREVER PLAID, a charming happy accident

"And now, for the first time on this or any other planet. Forever Plaid!"

After being slammed broadside by a school bus filled with Catholic teenagers, the Plaids are catapulted out the 1950s into a soundless limbo until they meet up with the audience in their (almost) afterlife, now granted the opportunity to perform the show they always dreamed of, Forever Plaid —a tragedy turned happy accident!

This 1990 off-Broadway musical revue written (and originally directed and choreographed) by Stuart Ross has doo-wopped itself into the hearts of many theatre-lovers, earning it the description of cult-hit. Now South African audiences get to share in the rhythm and blues story of four audio-visual club friends, turned basement based performers, known as the Plaids.

This close-harmony quartet, with slayed dreams of performing on The Ed Sullivan show, is made up of Sparky, Jinx, Smudge and Francis. They band together to overcome boyish squabbling, nerves, nosebleeds and even some lyrical amnesia to share the music that they love as they sing their way into your hearts and hopefully their heaven. The Plaids harmonise and charm with old-fashioned charisma, as they present their take on much-loved hits, such as Catch A Falling Star, Sixteen Tons, Heart and Soul, and Perfidia.

With great moments of nostalgia, humming and humour, Forever Plaid is a delightful jukebox musical. If the characters of Happy Days were to have a night out at the theatre, this would be their choice for sure —great family-friendly fun!

The talented Tiaan Rautenbach, Yamikani Mahaka-Phiri, Danny Meaker, Musanete Sakupwanya step into the goofy shoes of the Plaids in this ‘heavenly 1950s musical comedy’; all of them exceptional vocalists, who quite wonderfully embrace the quirks of their characters. They entertain audiences within the eternal confines of a striking, yet simplistic, set and lighting design by Dennis Hutchinson.

You can see the pitch-perfect Plaids sing for their deliverance in the very enjoyable Forever Plaid, onstage at Theatre on the Bay until 23 November 2019. Tickets for this VR Thetarical presented show are available online through Computicket.