For Immediate Release: February 10, 2006
UMW DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE TO CONTINUE 2005-06 SEASON WITH FOREVER PLAID
Fredericksburg, Va. – The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre and Dance will continue its 2005-06 season with Forever Plaid, a play by Stuart Ross. Performances will be February 16-18 and February 22-25 at 8 p.m., and February 19, 25 and 26 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $16 for senior citizens.
Forever Plaid is a musical comedy about “The Plaids,” an all-male harmony group of four young, earnest and music-loving friends who meet in high school through their audio-visual club. The play opens as a voiceover explains that during the 1950s, “The Plaids” were on their way to sing at their first big gig when they were instantly killed in an automobile accident. “The Plaids” are miraculously brought back to life through “the power of harmony and the expanding holes in the ozone layer,” and are given a second chance to perform their ’50s pop hits for a modern audience.
“The Plaids” sing their hearts out with old-time favorites like “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Rags to Riches,” “Cry” and “She Loves You.” The musical style of “The Plaids,” along with their charming personalities, silly jokes and precise choreography, recall a bygone era of the 1950s and ’60s. Forever Plaid was the most successful play by Stuart Ross, a writer, director and choreographer. The play officially opened in New York City on May 20, 1990. Since then, it has become a favorite throughout the country and has been performed around the world.
The success of Forever Plaid has not hindered Ross’ work. He has continued to write, direct and choreograph. In 1987, Ross wrote Fun with Dick and Jane and the Tony Award-nominated musical Starmites. More recently, he has directed three productions for HBO’s New Writers Project, written Tea with Bea and, in 1998, he and Mark Hampton wrote and staged The Boswell Sisters, a new musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference, where he also has served for six seasons as a director and dramaturge.
Forever Plaid is directed by Gregg Stull, department chair and professor of theatre; costume design is by Kevin McCluskey, assistant professor of theatre; set design is by Julie Hodge, associate professor of theatre; lighting design is by David Hunt, professor of theatre; musical director is guest artist Chris Wingert; and choreography is by Jenna Doolittle, a UMW junior majoring in theatre. For more information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1124.
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News release prepared by: Jenna Doolittle