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There's nothing like music to take you back in time. However, it's not just "Chantilly Lace" that inspires a stroll down this musical memory lane, but taffeta. That satiny, often pastel-colored fabric hasn't always resided solely in the domain of never-wear-them-again bridesmaids' dresses and stiff prom gowns; it was the chief couture, accented with poufy crinolines and pearls, of all-girl vocal groups of the 1950s.
Tabard Theatre Company revisits the music of the Eisenhower era with the musical revue The Taffetas, about a fictional 1950s all-female ensemble of the same name. The show runs Jan. 28Feb. 5 in Almaden and also plays Feb. 1126 in downtown San Jose.
The Taffetas may be nostalgic, but it also proves that the more some things change, the more they stay the same. American Bandstand has long since given way to American Idol, but television has always gone steady with pop music, and at the heart of this tale of the Taffetas is the quartet's debut on the TV program Spotlight on Music, which they hope will catapult them from obscurity in Muncie, Ind., to The Ed Sullivan Show--and fame.
The foursome gears up for their moment on the small screen by performing a repertoire of '50s favorites that include such well-known tunes as "Sh-Boom," "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?," "Where the Boys Are," "Mr. Sandman" and "Johnny Angel" and overseas reveries like "Arrivederci Roma," "Sweet Song of India" and "C'est si Bon." There's even a kind of commercial break: "See the USA in Your Chevrolet."
Tabard Theatre Company presents "The Taffetas" Jan. 28Feb. 5 at Joint Venture Churches, 6581 Camden Ave., San Jose and Feb. 1126 at Bella Mia Restaurant, 58 S. First St., San Jose. Tickets are $18 (Jan. 28Feb. 5) and $20 (Feb. 1126). For more information, call 408.979.0231 or see www.tabardtheatre.org.
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