Amid a seemingly endless Christmas conglomeration of nutcrackers and messiahs and light shows, “Plaid Tidings” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre Columbia emerges as a refreshing — and welcome — break from tradition.
In “Forever Plaid,” the guys are sent to Earth for one last chance at musical glory. In “Plaid Tidings,” the group returns to Earth without instruction. They finally realize — with a little help from Rosemary Clooney — that their mission is to perform a holiday show — without rehearsal.
The show starts out a bit slow, with some mediocre jokes interspersed with dialogue explaining the Plaids’ unfortunate fate. The audience finds out that all four of the guys have high anxiety about their mission, with the exception of Sparky, who is the prankster of the group. Frankie is clearly the leader that the boys look to for guidance, and Jinx and Smudge struggle when the spotlight is only on them.
Usually with these types of “boy bands” there are one or two singers who are a little more talented than the others. That is not the case here — all four actors in the show are standout performers.
As Jinx, John Sheeler’s performance of “Besame Mucho/Kiss of Fire” is exceptional. Perfectly on pitch, he sings with a passion that makes audience members sit up and listen. It’s perhaps the best solo performance of the entire show.
Just watching Jeffrey Shankle as Sparky wordlessly chew his bubble gum is hilarious, and his unyielding enthusiasm for practical jokes (at one point he sits on a whoopie cushion for cheap laughs — and gets them) is infectious. When he does lack vocally — which is not often — he makes up for it with charm.
Making his debut at Toby’s Columbia, Jeffrey Higgins is delightful as the nervous, nerdy Smudge. While his vocal talent is significant, he gets a chance to show off his piano skills during “Let It Snow.”
Darren McDonnell, a Toby’s regular whose performance hardly ever disappoints, is just as charismatic as ever in his role as Frankie. His performance in “Christmas Calypso” is engaging and funny.
