GALVESTON, TX -- Unless you consider four-part guy groups do-wopping in dinner jackets and bow ties outdated, Forever Plaid is not a fashion no-no. Rather, it's a retro musical celebration of pre rock 'n' roll standards of the 1950s and 1960s, sung by nerdy crooners with angelic voices. Courtesy of the Plaid Touring Company, Gulf Coast residents can go "Round and Round" with Forever Plaid and "Cry" about "Heart and Soul" and other "Moments to Remember" Mar. 21 and 22 at Galveston's Grand 1894 Opera House.

The story, such as it is, relates the miraculous return to earth of the four Plaids, a synchronized quartet of endearing young men, alums of their high school audiovisual club, who had been "snuffed out mid coda" in a car accident on the way to their big break: a gig at an airport cocktail bar, The Fusel Lounge. On a Mission of Harmony, the crooning chums come back to life courtesy of a hole in the ozone and other "astro-technical stuff" to perform the big show they missed out on.

Forever Plaid hopes to "Catch a Falling Star." And it urges, "Dream Along with Me."

The show's writer, director, and choreographer, Stuart Ross, insures such "Magic Moments" across the country, as he previously has in England, Japan, and Canada. On Broadway he co-authored Starmites and wrote the Easter Show at Radio City Music Hall. He's also directed Michael Cristofer's play Breaking Up with Matthew Modine.

Most of the cast members have been Plaids before. J. Michael Beech, playing Frankie, has an interesting resume: he has sailed the oceans as a featured singer/magician/aerial acrobat with Holland America Cruise Line, and served as a stand-in for Dick Clark at Radio City Music Hall. Forever Plaid plays March 21 and 22 at Galveston's Grand 1894 Opera House. For tickets, $14.50 - $26.50, call (800) 821-1894.

-- By Peter Szatmary
Texas Correspondent