Towne Centre Professional Productions Presents “Forever Plaid” by Stuart Ross August 31 through September 3 at the DeKalb County Complex Auditorium on South Congress Boulevard.
Enjoy a special Labor Day weekend performance of this wonderful and heart-warmingly funny musical.
Show Times:
Friday, August 31, 7:30 pm
Saturday, September 1, 7:30 pm
Sunday, September 2, 2:00 pm
Monday, September 3, 7:00 pm
Forever Plaid synopsis
The setting is simple: four microphones, a piano and the bass. From the back of the house we hear heavenly voices chanting. Four men carrying candles and dressed in white dinner jackets walk through the audience, singing, “Deus Ex Plaid.” Francis, the leader and most confident member of the group, leads them through the audience, “Holy Canoli! We’re finally back on earth.” For, once upon the time, on February 9th 1964, this semi professional harmony group was on their way to their first big gig at the airport Hilton cocktail bar, Fusill-Lounge. While driving in their cherry-red 1954 Mercury convertible, they were rehearsing their finale, “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.” They were just getting to their favorite E flat diminished seventh chord when they were slammed broadside by a school bus filled with eager Catholic teens from out of Harrisburg. The teens were on their way to witness the Beatles make their U.S. television debut on the Ed Sullivan show, and miraculously escaped uninjured. The harmony group, however, was killed instantly.
While they’re still technically dead, they have their voices, and bodies, and dinner jackets. They talk to the audience trying to figure out what year it is. 2012! To fight the tension caused by 40-plus years in limbo, they decide to sing. “And now, for the first time on this or any other planet. Forever Plaid!” Though they never got to do the show when they were alive, the stars have conspired with the expanding holes in the ozone layer to do the show now. Singing in the closest of harmony, squabbling boyishly over the smallest intonations and executing their charmingly outlandish choreography with over-zealous precision, the “Plaids” are a guaranteed smash, with a program of beloved songs and delightful patter that keeps audiences rolling in the aisles when they’re not humming along to some of the great nostalgic pop hits of the 1950’s.
For tickets, call Towne Centre Theatre at 615-221-1174 or online at www.townecentretheatre.com
Brentwood Arts Society was established in 2004 with the purpose of promoting the Arts in Middle Tennessee, providing opportunities for local artists and performers to display their talents and to provide programs in the arts for young people. The first program was to provide financial and other support to Towne Centre Theatre at 136 Frierson Street in Brentwood, Tennessee. Since 2006, TCT has provided local artists with gallery space to exhibit their work to the public and underwrote the production of six plays a year in the theater. Next year, TCT is expanding to 7 shows a year, providing even more opportunies for local actors, artists and theater-goers.
TCT was built in 1885 and served as Williamson County School, a one room, wood frame schoolhouse. In 1905, the building was purchased by the Mt. Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church and, with several alterations and additions, was a church for 100 years until 2005. That year the building was purchased by Investors Towne Center Partners I, LP and converted into a small community theater with a gallery room for art exhibits, and lease to the Brentwood Arts Society. The Society has a desire to preserve history, promote the arts and improve the culture of our communities.
The Society’s future plans for the Brentwood area include a larger facility with two auditoriums, ample visual arts exhibition space, classrooms and meeting rooms. Professional theater, art classes, camps and events of various types would find a home at this facility.
Brentwood Arts Society, in association with Towne Centre Productions, plans to present a series of events in Smithville, Tennessee in the Dekalb County Community Center Theater. The first event, a musical play called “Forever Plaid” will run this Labor Day Weekend. Other events through the winter are on the drawing board and, pending good community support, will be produced on weekends just before Halloween and Valentines Day, and for three weeks after Thanksgiving Day. There will be roles available for local actors, especially children, in the Christmas production set for the three weeks after Thanksgiving. This is professional theater and an excellent opportunity for local residents to experience live theater close to home. Other future productions in Smithville, and at nearby Lakeside Resort, are being considered.
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