Five Vegas theaters to get broadcast of ‘Forever Plaid’ from L.A. theater

Thursday, June 25, 2009 | 6:30 p.m.

Welcome to the 21st Century, where technology allows almost anyone to do almost anything.

On July 9 a filmed version of the internationally acclaimed musical “Forever Plaid” will be digitally broadcast from Club Nokia in Los Angeles to more than 500 theaters in the United States and Canada.

The show will air at 8 p.m. PDT (tape delay) with live airings at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Central and 6 p.m. Mountain.

The broadcast will include a red carpet event hosted by Fred Willard, followed by a showing of the film, followed by a live performance by the cast who will be singing several numbers not included in the production. Broadway star Carol Channing will perform with the group.

It may not rival the film version of “Mamma Mia!”, but when “Forever Plaid” hits the big screen for the one-time showing it’s sure to have an appreciative audience.

The musical -- about four young men killed in an automobile accident on Feb. 9, 1964, en route to picking up the custom-made plaid tuxedos they were going to wear during their first professional gig - is one of the most popular community theater productions in the country.

“Plaid” played at the Flamingo for six years and the Gold Coast for two, closing in 2007 after more than 4,500 performances.

It has been playing off-Broadway since it debuted 20 years and is an international success story.

The simulcast is part of the 20th anniversary celebration.

Locally it may be seen at:

* Colonnade 14, 8880 S. Eastern Ave.

* Sams Town 18, 5111 Boulder Highway

* Orleans 18, 4500 Tropicana Ave.

* Village Square 18, 9400 W. Sahara Ave.

* Century 16 South Point, 9777 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Tickets are $18. For information go to foreverplaid.com/tickets.

The film was shot in five days on a stage built in a sound studio in Los Angeles. The final day of shooting included a live audience.

After the one-time showing of the film the show’s creator Stuart Ross says he will be looking at distribution and DVD deals.

“We shot the play just like a movie, with animation and lots of fun stuff, including a full orchestra,” he said during a phone interview in Los Angeles.

The cast includes three original members of the musical - Stan Chandler (as Jinx), David Engel (Smudge) and Larry Raben (Sparky).

The fourth member of the quartet is Daniel Reichard (as Francis), best known for originating the role of Bob Gaudio in the Broadway hit “Jersey Boys.”

David Hyde Pierce, of “Frasier” fame, is the narrator.

David Snyder is the musical director and pianist in the show.

Oscar/Emmy winnter Alan Heim supervised the editing of the film. Heim received an Oscar for editing “All That Jazz” and a nomination for “Network,” as well as an Emmy for “The Holocaust” (a TV miniseries) and two other Emmy nominations for “Liza With a Z” and “Dorothy Dandridge.”

"Forever Plaid" was written, directed and choreographed by Ross, with musical continuity and arrangements by the late James Raitt. Written in 1987, it debuted in New York in 1990.

The musical is a charming story of the four aspiring singers who are killed when their car was broadsided by a school bus filled with teens on their way to see the Beatles make their debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Through a chain of bizarre events, the harmonizing vocalists get one last opportunity to perform - proving that their spirits still live on.

All of the songs are great standards of the '50s, including : "Three Coins in the Fountain"; "Undecided"; "Gotta Be This or That"; "Moments to Remember"; "Crazy 'Bout Ya, Baby"; "No, Not Much"; "Sixteen Tons"; "Chain Gang"; "Perfidia"; "Cry"; "Heart and Soul"; "Lady of Spain"; "Scotland the Brave"; "Shangri-La"; "Rags to Riches"; and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing".