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FOREVER PLAID COMES TO THE DAKOTA PRAIRIE PLAYHOUSE 

Dakota State University will present The University of South Dakota Playhouse’s production of Forever Plaid, June 23 and 24 at 8:00 p.m. and June 25 at 2:00 p.m. in the Dakota Prairie Playhouse in Madison.  

 Forever Plaid, which was written by Stuart Ross with musical continuity supervision and arrangements by James Raitt, is a delightful musical revue that features the close harmony of The Plaids, a “guy group” reminiscent of popular singing quartets like The Four Aces, The Ames Brothers and The Crew Cuts from the 1950’s.  

The action of Forever Plaid centers on four young, male singers whose dreams of recording an album ended when they were killed in a traffic accident.  While headed to their first major engagement, The Plaids were broadsided by a bus filled with fans on their way to see the Beatles make their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.  The play begins with The Plaids miraculously returning from the afterlife for one final chance at musical glory--to perform the show that never was.  Singing nostalgic pop hits of the 1950's and ‘60’s, including numbers immortalized by Perry Como, Harry Belafonte, Eddie Fisher, and Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Plaids charm and delight audiences with their close harmony, witty dialogue and outlandish choreography.  Classic favorites like “Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby,” “No Not Much,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Chain Gang,” “Catch a Falling Star,” “Love is a Many Splendored Thing,” and many others make Forever Plaid an amusing journey down memory lane.

The cast includes Jeremy Gamet (Rapid City, SD) as Sparky, Elliot Graber (Freeman, SD) as Frankie, Edwin Lopez (Canby, MN) as Jinx, and Aaron Paschall (Denver, CO) as Smudge.  Monica Jacobson (Tripp, SD) accompanies the action on piano with Tim Miller (Kensington, MD) on bass. 

Charlotte Guyette (Vermillion, SD), associate professor of Theatre at the U., directs the action, while  Nanette Hofer (Sioux Falls) serves as musical director and Jonnie Stapleton (South Sioux City, NE) choreographs the musical numbers.  Dan Guyette and Dennis Chandler (both of Vermillion) design the setting and lighting/sound, respectively.

Forever Plaid is the inaugural production of The University of South Dakota Playhouse, a new theatre company started by Daniel Guyette, the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the U..  With this theatrical venture Guyette seeks to provide audiences on the eastern side of the state with an additional opportunity to experience the joy of  professional-quality musical theatre.  The production, which began its run in Vermillion, performs in Sioux Falls at the historic Orpheum Theater, June 30^th and July 1^st and 2nd.

Tickets for Forever Plaid are $12 for adults and $8 for youth (K-12) and university students with valid ID.  Tickets can be reserved in advance by calling (605) 256-5666 or by stopping by the box office in the afternoons beginning June 19^th.