ORLANDO — The four polite, well mannered young men in Forever Plaid are ghosts, but don’t assume that since it’s October, Winter Park Playhouse is doing a creepy Halloween show designed to give Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando a run for its money.
Scary show? Nope! But it does score a bullseye when it comes to delivering solid laugh out loud humor.
There’s a good reason the Playhouse is reviving Forever Plaid: this musical comedy about a singing quartet that gets killed in a car accident in the early 1960s, then given a chance to return for a concert, has crowd pleaser written all over it. The exceptional casting means that if you’ve seen this Playhouse production in the past you’ll definitely want to revisit it, because it feels fresh and totally engaging with four remarkably good performers whose acting and singing is tough to beat.
The Playhouse’s revival of the Off-Broadway hit is being performed now through Sunday, Oct. 19 at their temporary home at Orlando Shakes. Heather Alexander, the Playhouse’s executive director, delivered the good news on Saturday: Grant funding has come through and the city of Winter Park now owns their building at 711 N. Orange Ave. in Winter Park, and it will, continue to get leased as the exclusive home to the Playhouse.
Their longtime theater is scheduled to soon undergo major renovations so it can offer an even more luxurious theatrical experience for its patrons — what the Playhouse has called “an exciting renovation.” Their current season, which runs through April 25 2026, will continue to be performed at the neighboring Orlando Shakes in Loch Haven park.
What is the Musical Forever Plaid?
Playwright Stuart Ross’ show is about four dead musicians, but this ghost story is sweet and funny. In the early 1960s, just before the explosion of Beatlemania changed rock & roll forever, an all male quartet of high school buddies are on their way to their first gig when their car collides with a bus filled with Catholic school students on their way to a Beatles concept. The Catholic kids survive (holy intervention?) but our singing quartet doesn’t (judgment on rock music? Hmmm …)
After decades in the after-life, the boys suddenly get a once-in-a-lifetime (so to speak) opportunity to return to the living world to fulfill their dream of performing a concert in front of a large audience. It goes without saying that the Winter Park Playhouse audience was enormously receptive to this concert and the lads’ gorgeous and soaring harmonies on classic oldies such as “Three Coins in a Fountain” and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing.”
Those song titles are key to the show’s clever appeal. The times have changed, but the boys haven’t — they’re still wide-eyed, naive, a bit immature and green behind the ears. They have the innocence of early 1960s kids before the decade shifted to the Summer of Love, psychedelia, hippies, and so on, and they seem centuries removed from our hyperactive social media era. In other words, they’re sweet and fun.
How is the Winter Park Playhouse Production?
One of the keys to reviving an audience favorite is the challenge of giving the show something extra this time around. Good casting delivered that ingredient. The expert casting call went to Blake Rushing Mitchell as Francis, Adourin Jamelle Owens (Jinx), Lynford Parries (Smudge) and Jameson Stobbe (Sparky), four supremely gifted singing singers so well rehearsed by director Steven Flaa that their comedic timing is flawless.
Owens has some very funny (and icky) moments when his human form revives his constant nosebleeds, and Parries, making his debut at the Playhouse, has a grand moment when he’s thrust on stage to improvise with the audience while his band mates after backstage. His geeky, super-jittery, ultra-shy response is a comical delight.
Mitchell, also making his Playhouse debut, is another scene stealer while leading the band and audience in some Calypso music, while Stobbe keeps everything together nicely as the unofficial head of the band. Their high energy performances keep this show lively, and the Playhouse has some added fun with this one: their musical director, Christopher Leavy, has a few visually comical moments, while the Playhouse’s media director, Lisa Melillo, gets a funny cameo, too. Considering that there’s some engaging audience participation in this show, it’s all one big happy family.
Where Can I See Forever Plaid?
Forever Plaid is being performed now through Sunday, Oct. 19 at their Winter Park Playhouse’s current home at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E Rollins St. The Playhouse has a ticket booth right outside the Mandell Theater where its shows are performed. There is ample parking at Orlando Shakes, and VIP parking is available for Winter Park Playhouse performances.
The musical runs for 90 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Fridays and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and select Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $47 for evening shows, $45 for seniors during evening shows, and $42 for matinees. There are $20 tickets for students ages 15-25, active military and theatrical industry professionals. Student rush “$10@10” offers $10 tickets (for students 25 years and younger) are available 10 minutes prior to a performance when seats are available.
To purchase tickets or for more information call the box office at 407-645-0145 or visit the theater online at www.winterparkplayhouse.org.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright and author of the terrifying book “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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