he Welk Resort Theatre’s latest production, “”Forever Plaid,”” is a cute production, but, while the show can be entertaining, it is not really that interesting. The story, so to speak, is that of a four-member group that gets into a fatal car crash with a school bus full of parochial school girls and now, 40 years later, they have come back to earth to perform again.
There are four actors/singers in the show that play the parts of the four-man group who met back in high school as part of the audio-visual club. David Humphrey plays Frankie, the “”ladies man”” of the group, who is enthusiastic to the point of annoying. Ryan Drummond plays Smudge, the geeky yet optimistic member of the group who desperately wants to do well. Steve Gunderson plays Sparky, the upbeat, outgoing guy who usually upstages everyone else. Kevin McMahon plays Jinx, the shy, clumsy member of the group, who suffers so many nosebleeds during the course of the show that one audience member exclaimed rather loudly, “”Not again!””
These four are accompanied by Uncle Chester, played by Richard Maloof, who does a wonderful job performing on the bass. Justin Gray also has a place on stage playing the piano for most of the show, as well as interacting with the characters a few times.
The singing, which comprises most of the 90-minute show, is good. However, while the singing is wonderful, the songs are rather old, and most college-age students would only recognize about half of them (though it is interesting to note that there are actually words to the song “”Heart and Soul””).
However, the parts of the show that deal with the interaction of the characters are weak at best. The dialogue drags on and very few of the jokes are actually funny. They seem to be more of a space filler so that the actors can catch their breath before moving on to the next song.
The theater itself is a nice venue. Set in the Welk Resort in San Diego, the Welk Resort Theatre is a small, intimate setting for such a performance. It helps the actors play to the audience, even talking to them and inviting them up on stage for parts of the show. They use the space well and use quite a number of props, and small set pieces such as movable lights and palm trees make up for the lack of sets.
Overall, this production is satisfactory. Not horrible by any means, but certainly nothing to rush out and see. Perhaps it would be a good performance for any grandparents who are coming to visit. The production runs through June 7. Information and reservations are available by calling (888) 802-7469.
