Pat Payne isn’t afraid of sending a mixed message with the Firehouse and Spotlight theater companies’ joint production of the musical “Forever Plaid.” Instead, he’s counting on it.
Payne directed the first stage collaboration between the two resident companies working out of the John Hand Theatre at Lowry, and he said the show’s mix of lighthearted musical fare and stark human drama is a fitting creative statement from both troupes. “Forever Plaid,” the 1990 musical revue by Stuart Ross, combines a poppy soundtrack pulled from the era of close harmonies and male quartets with a straightforward story about dreams cut short.
Ross’ tale of the Plaids, a fictional vocal quartet based loosely on the sounds and stories of groups like the Four Freshman and the Four Aces, includes vocal renditions of pop standards like “Three Coins in a Fountain,” “Sixteen Tons” and “Chain Gang.” The story of the Plaids’ untimely deaths in a bus accident and their revival for a chance to play a final show gives the show more weight than the typical musical revue.
For Payne and the cast, this balance between pop and drama offered an ideal way to show off the strengths of both companies.
“This was an opportunity to pool resources … Everyone knows their expertise,” said Payne, who brought the then-roving Spotlight company to a permanent home at the John Hand Theatre in 2008. “There’s the fun and fluff of Spotlight in this show, but there’s also a message, a human journey and a human connection.”
For years, the Firehouse and Spotlight companies have offered a revolving menu of shows at the 72-seat theater on the Colorado Free University campus at Lowry, and both troupes have invoked very separate creative missions. The Firehouse crew has offered a more intense brand of theater, an approach that’s included psychological dramas and thrillers like the regional premiere of Dennis Lehane’s “Coronado” in March. The Spotlight’s basic mission to help audiences “forget their worries” sees the company offering more comedies and farces, a menu that’s included productions of the comedy “Harvey” and “Dearly Departed.”
“Forever Plaid” draws on both of those specialties, Payne said, and the show allows for cross-marketing between the troupes’ separate audiences. It’s a pattern the companies’ producers are planning to repeat, with a co-production of the musical “The Full Monty” slated for next year.
“This appeals to both sets of audiences,” Payne said. “I love nothing more than seeing our patrons at another theater.”
The unique format of the show poses plenty of demands and challenges for the cast, a crew of four lead actors who have to sing, act and dance onstage for the full length of the show. Adam Shelton, Ken Paul, Timothy Kennedy and Paul Jaquith play the four “Plaids,” and their stage time includes a full set of songs featuring precise four-part harmonies. The only accompaniment is a single piano player, stark instrumentation that puts even more weight on the ensemble.
“We’re onstage the entire show, the entire time. You don’t get that five seconds to go backstage,” said Paul, who plays the character Smudge and also serves the show’s music director. “We’ve got four really good voices in this show. We’ve found times in the rehearsal process to take care of our voices, but it’s definitely a challenge. We have to be really mindful of that. But being that musical allows us to find the hinges of the spectrum, really soft and really loud. That actually keeps the voice healthy.”
But the requirements of the show go beyond the tight harmonies and the period music. The story deals with dreams deflated, with hopes cut short by tragedy and mortality. That element adds to the depth of the piece for the actors, and makes “Forever Plaid” more than a simple revue of 1950s pop tunes.
“There’s a theme of mortality in this show that gets to the deeper things. No matter what, the music that we create together goes farther than our life here on Earth,” said Kennedy, who plays Frankie. “Like my character says, we create things that go past galaxies and throughout eternity. There’s something very common about music that allows these guys to realize that their mortality isn’t defined by death.”
It’s an awfully weighty message, one that’s lightened by a poppy soundtrack designed to stir nostalgia and a brand of slapstick that include dance routines with toilet plungers.
“What’s great about it is that you go from being really human to really silly,” Jaquith said. “That just draws the audience in more. It makes you care more.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com or 720-449-9707
IF YOU GO …
“Forever Plaid”
Through May 13
The John Hand Theater, 7653 E. 1st Place in Lowry
Tickets start at $22
Information: 720-880-8727; thisisspotlight.org