Plaid Tidings NYC Reviews and Tickets

"I hadn’t seen the 'Forever Plaid' guys in decades, and I’d completely forgotten they were dead. But all was made clear by the narrator of 'Plaid Tidings,' the group’s sweetly enjoyable holiday show...The finest moment belongs to Perry Como, who appears on a black-and-white console TV as the Plaids sing backup...It all seems completely organic, to the credit of Stuart Ross, who wrote, directed and did the musical staging."
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"As comedy, 'Plaid Tidings' is extremely hit-or-miss. There are lame jokes about Imodium, nosebleeds, asthma, and a trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania...The entire what-are-we-doing-here premise is strained, and not just because it is reprised from the original show. We know what their true purpose is: They are meant to sing, and during certain dull stretches, you may find yourself wishing they would just get on with it."
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"The humorous banter among the four and their slide-splitting re-creation of the Ed Sullivan show are reason enough to see 'Plaid Tidings.' Add in their four-part close harmony renditions of more than thirty songs and you’ve got a perfect holiday frolic…Although it helps to be familiar with the style the Plaids are lampooning, the show can be appreciated as a gentle, happy, comic musical caper with nothing on its mind but pleasing the audience."
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"For anyone who likes to laugh – a lot – and who’s seeking a respite from the stresses and strains of the daily grind, 'Plaid Tidings' is for you...The show, two acts with intermission, probably would benefit from running straight through without interruption – the pace is fast and there’s a steady buildup to the payoff: a priceless homage to an era gone by."
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"The holiday sequel of 'Plaid Tidings' is equally pleasing though not without problems...Next earthly visit more singing please, and less silliness...The event is pleasurable and the opportunity to listen to fours voices blend in scintillating harmony does indeed give one hope for a brighter future."
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"The slightly overstuffed two-hour show is packed with tasty bonbons in the form of expertly performed songs and clever musical staging...The comic shtick is hit or miss, though, and the corn is as high as an elephant's eye...With the same music playing in every store and elevator these days, the music holds few surprises; nonetheless, it’s well enough done that it really doesn’t matter."
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"Against all expectations, it's a sweet, silly enjoyable evening of popular songs, enlivened by some good jokes (and some bad jokes) and blessed with a cast that elevates the modest material nicely. 'Plaid Tidings' proves to be glad tidings for anyone wanting comfort food in their theater outing this holiday season."
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"The holiday version is delivering just as many smiles as the original. The storyline for both versions is as thin as a paper cupcake liner…'Plaid Tidings' doesn’t purport to change the world with any deep themes or topics. It’s mostly a variety show, but a heartfelt one at that. With the original creator, Ross at the helm this quartet will leave you with a warmth and sweetness that comforts like fresh-baked Christmas cookies."
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"The one improvement that could be made to the show is the pacing of the first act. It takes what seems like most of Act I for the guys to realize what their mission is, and while the cascade of old-time tunes is entertaining, the show really finds its momentum once it settles into it’s holiday groove. All in all, 'Plaid Tidings' is a solid win for good, clean and wholesome holiday fun."
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"For those who have never seen the first musical, this may all be fresh and new. For those who have seen the original, it is a tad disappointing. The show really begins after intermission when 'The Plaids' return to perform... Would that the whole show were this creative. Never fear, however, as these four Plaids sing with the greatest of ease and blend."
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"The Christmas show plot’s a little goofy and the result a bit disjointed...The note-dropping shtick quickly becomes tedious, but all is forgiven when they start to sing in that fab ’50s close-harmony style...The Plaids have been packing them in for nearly two decades now and have inspired legions of Plaid Heads, fans who see each show multiple times, sometimes even following them from one gig to another."
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"The foursome are granted permission to return to earth for one final show. 'Plaid Tidings' allows them an encore performance. Once you get past that rather morbid setup, 'Plaid Tidings' proves a nostalgic, funny, tuneful two hours of Christmas cheer...Ross’s script can get a little corny (or a lot), as when one of the boys reveals his tip for staying young in the afterlife, but as long as Forever Plaid are singing, it’s first-rate holiday entertainment."
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"The Globe's 'Plaid Tidings' cast is very good, and most have done 'Plaid' shows so many times they could do the moves and music in their sleep, but that's one of my quibbles with the show...Ross has written a joke into the 'Plaid Tidings' script that implies that people continue aging after death, but the boyish goofiness still seems a bit off for the maturity of the quartet onstage...The foursome are all excellent singers and good actors."
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“'Plaid Tidings' isn’t so much a sequel as a rehash...The comedy content is mostly enjoyable but bland; it can get wearying if you’re familiar with Ross’ franchise...Two hours with Ross’ lovable losers is more than enough, perhaps inspiring cynicism as much as instilling holiday cheer. That’s the flip side of creating a show that banks on audiences’ need for and response to nostalgia for the innocence of a bygone time."
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"'The Plaid' revues' saving grace is their ability to laugh at the very culture that they are celebrating, to make light of its syrupy sentiments and vanilla veneer...But even as the shows acknowledge the datedness of this pop-culture fluff, they're able to root out from under its candy-coating and hokey pose of innocence something in the music that still catches our ear."
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"We’re still safe with these dear, funny men, all of whom are inept on purpose still upset the 'harmonal' balance of the world, especially now that we are held hostage by awful holiday recordings...Ross adds an extremely funny cell phone gag, with the guys running all over trying to discover the source of the (to us) familiar ring tone, then not knowing what a cell phone is...Departing audience members remarked to one another how much fun they’d had."
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