After opening the 60th season for Utah State University's Lyric Repertory Company, “Forever Plaid” continues to fill the seats of the Lyric Theatre.
“Forever Plaid” showcases the harmonious dynamic of a barbershop quartet from the 1950s. On the way to their first big gig, The Plaids (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx, and Frankie) are struck and killed by a school bus. After 80 years in limbo, The Plaids return for just long enough to perform the gig that caused their death.
Written by Stuart Ross with music and vocal arrangements by James Raitt, the jukebox musical was first performed in a Manhattan cafe in 1987 and opened at The Triad Theater in 1989, where it ran for four years.
Lyric Repertory Theatre Artistic Director and head of the Utah State University theater department Richie Call directed the musical, a show he performed in during the early 2000s. The cast includes three USU theater students and one alum of the program.
Leading the quartet is Greyson Jenkins as Francis, the group's charismatic, asthmatic frontman. After his first year in the USU musical theater program and appearances in both the program’s spring shows — including a hilarious performance as Grandpa Joe in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Jenkins showcases his stellar voice and immense enthusiasm throughout the show.
Returning to the Lyric for his second season and finishing his second year in the USU acting program, Graydee Noyes plays Sparky, the group’s showman and comic. Also cast in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Mike Tevee, Noyes is an energetic performer. His voice shines in his bilingual spotlight, “Perfidia” by Milton Leeds and Alberto Dominguez — and you can’t help but laugh out loud at his antics.
Newly graduated from the USU acting program, Kaito Davis performs as Sparky’s step-brother, the shy and forgetful Jinx. Between chronic nosebleeds and impossibly high notes, Davis crushes his solo performance of “Cry” by Churchill Kohlman. From his first to his last line, Davis makes the audience root for his coy and talented character with a simple smile.
The fourth and most anxious member of the group, Smudge, is played by the ever-talented USU acting sophomore Riley Kyle Thompson. You may recognize his name from his work in USU’s production of “Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Retelling, Really” as Dracula, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as Mr. Beauregard, and his many roles in “Come From Away.” In this particular show, Thompson showcases an unexpectedly rich lower vocal range. His performance of “Sixteen Tons” by Merle Travis is jaw-dropping, despite Thompson’s humble demeanor.
To get tickets to the next show, visit usu.edu/lyricrep/.
