FOREVER PLAID Takes Audiences Back to the 1950s at Cumberland County Playhouse 3/29-5/24

Relive an era when doo-wop was king, big hairdos were in, cars had enormous fins, and the harmonizing boy bands of the 1950s were all the rage as Forever Plaid opens at Cumberland County Playhouse this Friday night, March 29, running through May 24.

Featured in the cast are Chris Hallowes (Holiday Inn) as Frankie, Playhouse newcomer Justin Burr as Smudge, Paul Gary (A Sanders Family Christmas) as Sparky and Ross Griffin (Barefoot in the Park) as Jinx. The Plaids get a chance to look back at their lives, and discover that they not only had wonderful lives, but that their lives were so magical and wonderful because of all the adventures the four friends shared together.

"I feel very fortunate to be able to bring this wonderful show back to the Playhouse stage," said artistic director Britt Hancock, who also directs. "After nearly 25 years, we have the opportunity to introduce this delightful musical to a whole new audience."

Considered one of the very best jukebox musicals, Stuart Ross' Forever Plaid is the wonderfully goofy and charming story of The Plaids, a clean-cut 1950s all-male singing group who return from the Great Beyond to perform the show they never got to when they were alive.

Audiences likely will be rolling in the aisles and tapping their toes as The Plaids are miraculously revived to perform the concert that "never was" in the nostalgic musical. The charming quartet of Hallowes, Burr, Gary and Griffin perform precision harmonies, squabble boyishly and execute their period-perfect choreography with precision. The Plaids perform some of the greatest hits of the 1950s: "Catch a Falling Star," "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," "Cry" and "Heart and Soul."

Forever Plaid plays in the Adventure Theater through May 24. Tickets are available at (931) 484-5000 or www.ccplayhouse.com.

Currently at The Playhouse: the side-splitting farce Noises Off on the Mainstage through April 18. Upcoming: Bright Star on the Mainstage, April 26 through June 6.

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