There is a day in the future that we can all anticipate with glee. That is the day when no one will be making Ed Sullivan jokes anymore, because no one will fucking remember The Ed Sullivan Show, nor any of the acts that trotted across its TV stage. And that goes double for pretty much all the lame 1950s nostalgia that is dragged out to coax faint chuckles from the pre-dead.

Speaking as a member of that ancient group, I have about had it up to here with shows such as Forever Plaid, now at Great Lakes Theater, since they pander to those of us 70 years and older with syrupy tunes and lame humor. And the Ed Sullivan schtick is part of this tepid song ‘n’ dance exercise, as the actors perform a frenzied, capsule version of that long-ago variety show. When was it decided we oldsters like that crap? I’ll take reruns of Veep any day to guys pretending to be The Four Freshmen harmonizing to “Lady of Spain.”

But hey, to each their own. If you love those close-harmony boy singing groups crooning “Shangri-la” and reliving the Eisenhower era, fire up your Rascal and head on down to East 14th Street. Because even though the show, which is “written” by Stuart Ross, is flimsy and yawn-inducing it won’t matter – because you forget everything at this point anyhow. It’s one of the tiny blessings of old age.

The performers are four young lads who all studied at Baldwin Wallace University, which is evidence of their intelligence and talent. And the group of them—Mack Shirilla, Andrew Kotzen, Mickey Patrick Ryan and James Penca—bring boyish verve and endless energy to the mercifully brief proceedings.

The cast is supported by a team of BW teachers and alumni including director Victoria Bussert, choreographer Gregory Daniels, music director Matthew Webb and scenic designer Jeff Herrmann. They all do their jobs professionally but, really, does anyone care? It’s Forever Plaid, for God’s sake.

It’s understandable that GLT mixes in some easier-to-swallow fare along with their Shakespeare plays, to keep the subscribers happy and the seats filled. But do we really have to help keep this kind of tripe alive? I mean, we’re old, but we ain’t dead yet.

Forever Plaid
Through May 21 at Great Lakes Theater, Hanna Theatre, 2067 E. 14th St., 216-241-6000, greatlakestheater.org

This article appears in May 10-16, 2017.

Christine Howey has been reviewing theater since 1997, first at Cleveland Free Times and then for other publications including City Pages in Minneapolis, MN and The Plain Dealer. Her blog, Rave and Pan, also features her play reviews. Christine is a former stage actor and director, primarily at Dobama Theatre.

4 replies on “Enough With Crappy 1950s Nostalgia and Shows Like “Forever Plaid””

  1. Veep? Rascal? What the flood are you babbling about? You need to take your meds and change your Depends. And lighten up. Cheezus Chrysler, give ’em a break. There’s nothing for geezers on TV anymore, so let them have their harmless fun before you push their wheelchairs down the stairs.

    And no, I’m not some Millennial asshole snarking at the drooling Boomers. I am you. One of the tribe. I am going to hit that same big “pre-dead” mile marker in August.

    Only I won’t have to commiserate with some boring play on my birthday (already seen it, in other venues,multiple times). The Big Guy (AKA “God”) is giving me an actual fucking TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE for my birthday!

    Chill out, dude. Drag your sorry, wrinkled, old ass down to Carbondale, IL…and you can party with me and NASA and a hundred thousand of my new friends. And watch me blow out the candles in total darkness at noon…well, 1:20 PM, anyway. Close enough for jazz.

    Chuckles the Clown

  2. Such a story could be updated a bit if Jethro Tull’s “Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die!” could be reworked for the theatrical stage.

  3. Wait until you get to the point in your life when everything you’ve enjoyed is considered “old” and passe.

    Aside from the fact that this level of nostalgia is generating money to this day, there is still room up there for new stuff, well letting this bubble of entertainment continue.

    The older generation that enjoys this has more of a disposable income than previous generations. It’s a different lifestyle, and they like nostalgia.

    As someone else already stated, there’s nothing on television geared for them. Some shows have proven that an older demographic is still a viable demographic.

    So, in other words… Who need your opinion? If the damn shows still fill a venue with an audience, somebody’s making money, while you sit there staring at your screen trying to come up with some with some idea that you think passes for a controversial statement to legitimize your paycheck.
    If you want to complain about a show like this and why should go away, come up with a fresh idea after you’ve got proof that it’s a better than what people keep come back to see over and over again.

    Lodi Mike

  4. Normally I don’t give guys like you the time of day. I have seen forever plaid in the neighborhood of 15 times. TV and music from that era is far superior than anything today. You had to have talent then. Now you can sport a ring in your nose, giant holes in your ears, a tramp stamp, & live in your parents basement so they can watch your kids and cry about how much the world owes you. No thanks! I’ll see forever plaid another 15 times!!

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