Fraser Valley Stage presents one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory, Forever Plaid, starting Thursday, Oct. 10.
The production is an outrageously fun revue chock-full of classic barbershop quartet and the great nostalgic pop hits of the 1950s.
Tickling the ivories is Abbotsford’s iconic “Piano Man,” Mel Bowker, who teams up with Fraser Valley Stage for vintage hits that include Heart and Soul, No Not Much, Temptation, Sixteen Tons, Perfidia, Crazy ’Bout Ya Baby and many more.
High-school chums Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie (played by Jake Hildebrand, Bradley Dewar, Christopher Hall and Dann Wilhelm) have dreams of recording an album. This ends – symbolically and literally – when their red ’54 Mercury collides with a bus filled with girls on their way to see the Beatles’ American debut.
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The play begins with the wondrous and wondering Plaids returning from the afterlife for one final chance at musical glory.
Singing in close harmony, squabbling boyishly over the smallest intonations and executing their outlandish choreography with overzealous precision, the Plaids are a guaranteed smash.
“The quartet’s perfected goofiness and stiffness take a backseat when the first notes waft through the theatre,” says producer Al Pattison.
“The voices are incredible. Audiences are going to love the show, especially when the men sing a cappella in perfect harmony.”
The show runs Oct. 10-12 and 17-19 at 7:30 p.m., with additional 2 p.m. matinees on Oct. 12 and 19, at the Community Arts Addition, 2329 Crescent Way.
Tickets are $25 and $20 (seniors/students) at Prospera Credit Union (West Oaks), Tourism Abbotsford (34561 DeLair Rd.) and online at fraservalleystage.com.