Go! feature

For a Christmas show of a different stripe — a lot of criss-crossing stripes, in fact — you can try “Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings” at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts.

“Plaid Tidings” offers the best of “Forever Plaid,” the cheeky tribute to the original “boy bands” of the 1940s and ‘50s,  all swirled together with Christmas standards.

“The Plaids were a (fictional) 1950s singing group who were on their way to their ‘Ed Sullivan Show’ debut when they were killed in a car accident and are now spirits,” said Matt Dentino, who plays Jinx. “In this show, they’ve been called back to earth by the spirit of Rosemary Clooney but they’re not sure why.”

So in the first part of the show, the boys — Jinx, Smudge (Chris Wyllie), Frankie (Brad Frost) and Sparky (John Detty) follow heavenly clues to find out why they’re back on earth.

“It appears they’ve come back to do a holiday concert,” Dentino said, “and they fumble around trying to figure out where the concert is and what songs they’re supposed to do.”

Sprinkled among the Christmas offerings are audience favorites like a riotous three minute and eleven second version of “The Ed Sullivan Show” - this time featuring the Rockettes, the Chipmunks and The Vienna Boys Choir — and a Caribbean-themed “Christmas Day-O.”

“We also do a psycho-Christmas that is a medley of tunes that transition without stopping,” Dentino said. “There’s a lot of slapstick and physical comedy, but there’s a real love of the music and the harmonies of the era.”

• WHAT: “Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings”
• WHERE: The Covedale Center for the Performing Arts,
• 4990 Glenway Ave., Cincinnati
• WHEN: Dec. 13-23
• COST: $21 adults; $19 seniors/students
• MORE INFO: (513) 421-6550; www.cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com