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See a show!
'Plaid Tidings' full of holiday cheer
By Margo Oxendine • Staff Writer
 | | The talented cast of "Plaid Tidings" gathered around Nita Sharp, mother of actor Michael Sharp, far right, after a smashing show Tuesday night in Covington. The show continues in Lewisburg, W.Va. through Dec. 22. From left are Francis "Frankie" Kelly, John "Smudge" Long, Mrs. Sharp, Heathe "Jinx" Stecklein, and Michael "Sparky" Sharp. (Recorder photo by Margo Oxendine) |
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LEWISBURG - Make a little more room in your holiday schedule: You don't want to miss "Plaid Tidings."
The Christmas-themed spin-off of the popular show "Forever Plaid" brings not just glad tidings, but hilarity, high jinx, even pathos.
One of the four "Plaids," Michael Sharp, hails from Bath County, which added special spice to the tasty stage show at Curfman Hall in Covington Tuesday night. Sharp, 43, has been "treading the boards" since he was 15. His theatrical debut occurred at Greenbrier Valley Theater in Lewisburg, W.Va. This is fitting, since it is GVT that is mounting "Plaid Tidings" as one of its holiday specials this season.
Tuesday night, GVT lent the show to the Alleghany Highlands Arts Council for a special one-night-only performance in Covington.
That was a smart move. Curfman Hall at Covington High School was packed. The Bath County contingent alone could have made the trip in a large party bus. It was a chance for folks in the Highlands to dress up in theater-worthy finery and drive not-too-far for a splendid show.
Seated second-row center was Michael Sharp's mother, Nita, of Hot Springs. Mrs. Sharp sparkled in an elegant black and silver ensemble; she was overheard telling a friend, "Well, my son told me to wear something sparkly so he could see me from the stage."
She had every reason to be proud.
The show was a spectacular montage of song, dance and dramatic antics. Two hours seemed barely enough entertainment for the crowd. Some might have been happy had the show lasted forever, just like The Plaids.
Here's the backstory: The four Plaids - known for their signature plaid tuxedos, this season in appropriate red and green - were headed to do a show in 1964 when they were "slammed broadside by a bus of Catholic teens" on their way to see The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Alas, all were killed in the crash.
From this tragic premise comes a fantastically comic musical. Go figure.
The Plaids are perplexed to discover themselves plopped back on Earth one December evening. They ponder their purpose here. They know it must have something to do with a good deed to ensure their place in heaven. And that good deed must surely have something to do with music.
Should they not pinpoint and fulfill their purpose, they lament, they just may be "doomed to spend eternity playing to half-empty houses."
Thus, the music begins. The four-part harmony of The Plaids - Smudge, Frankie, Jinx and Sparky - is spot-on as they wend their vocal way through fabulous songs from the 1950s. "Stranger in Paradise" is, appropriately, the first musical number. "Moments to Remember," "Besa Me Mucho," and other nostalgic classics follow, one after the other, during this jaunt down memory lane.
At one point, a Plaid opines, "Perhaps we're here to do something we never did."
"Sing on pitch?" suggests Sparky, portrayed by Sharp.
On pitch they were, throughout the performance.
While it may have come as a surprise to most, audience participation was a part of the show. One theater patron in the third row noticed a red and green plaid cloth case under the seat in front of her before the show began. She picked it up. It felt like eyeglasses. She looked inside, and discovered a very old-fashioned cell phone.
"Uh oh," she thought. "Someone's dropped this." She asked around the two rows in front of her. "Anyone lose a cell phone?"
No one had. Yet, most of them looked a little sheepish.
"Maybe it's part of the show," one suggested, nonchalantly.
Turns out, they were all in on the gag.
During the performance, the phone on the floor began to ring. The house became silent. The actors stopped, and looked curious.
Sparky left the stage and stalked through the audience, looking for the source of the chirp. He bent down near the lap of the woman in row three and snatched up the phone.
"Excuse us, ma'am," Smudge apologized from the stage. "What is this thing?" Sparky wondered.
"A cell phone!" the crowd replied.
Turns out, The Plaids were receiving a call from longdead crooner Rosemary Clooney. She had a few tips to relay about how they might find their way back to heaven.
During a sequence where handbells came into play, the audience was again involved.
"Does anyone know how to play the bells?"
Hands of most children in the front row rose.
Sure enough, that front row was packed with local youth famed for their theatrical experience. Rachel Camacho was "randomly" selected to hop up on stage and participate in the sketch.
Nostalgia reigned when The Plaids watched a video of their earthly hero, Perry Como. His special Christmas show swept many back to 1963, sitting in front of the TV, enjoying the show with parents and siblings.
And then came the coup de grace: A frenetic, comprehensive reenactment of The Ed Sullivan Show.
Yes folks, they were all there, and all hilarious: The poodle jumping through hoops, the plate-spinner, the accordion player, the Singing Nun, Groucho Marx, the Flying Wallendas, Jose Jiminez, the Rockettes, Topo Giogio, even the Lippizaner Stallions.
The crowd roared. Standing ovations were in order. And The Plaids? Well, their good deed was done: Holiday spirit had been shared.
"Plaid Tidings" is a distinct delight for the entire family. It's playing at the Greenbrier Valley Theater, on Washington Street in Lewisburg, until Dec. 22. To find out more, and see the schedule of matinees and evening shows, visit www.gvtheatre.org.
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