(Enlarge) The cast of "Plaid Tidings" at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia. (Kirstine Christiansen)

Those four singing ghosts of Christmases past are back with us mere mortals in a holiday show full of familiar melodies sure to make everyone feel especially warm and fuzzy this time of year.

The show is called "Plaid Tidings" because it's brought to us by the same squeeky-clean singing quartet we met in "Forever Plaid." They are getting too short a run at Toby's Dinner Theatre this time around, unfortunately. By the time the word gets out about this musical gem, they will have been dispatched back to their heavenly choir -- and who knows when they might visit Earth again?

A letter from Rosemary Clooney is the only urging necessary here for them to bring their special brand of harmony to our discordant world. All that's asked of us is to suspend our disbelief a couple of hours, long enough to enjoy the show put on by four lost souls on special leave from their otherworldly hit parade.

Miraculously, the guys get to perform the holiday show of their dreams, a collection of 1950s-era hits that they were prevented from giving by a fatal accident some 40 years earlier. True, that is mostly a re-hash of their woeful tale from their original journey in "Forever Plaid," but their story still brings smiles to fans.

Through the power of harmony and some other "astral-technical stuff" (signified by thunder bolts at Toby's), the group has come back to perform a holiday program. As a bonus, they get to wear those plaid jackets in the first act, and Perry Como sweaters in the second act when they provide backup harmony during one of Como's televised Christmas shows - a nice touch in the Toby's production.

With four-part vocal blending, dashes of comedy and a score filled with well-loved songs, "Plaid Tidings" is a family crowd-pleaser, thanks to sure direction by Bobby Smith and the fabulous piano accompaniment of Brant Challacombe with a cool bass backup by Frank Higgins.

Plaid's first act is filled with some memorable hits of yesteryear like "Stranger in Paradise," the appropriate opening song that finds the guys wandering around the stage wondering how they got back to Toby's. Sassier moments are provided by the likes of "Mambo Italiano" -- so typical of the pop hit parade of the '50s -- and Peggy Lee's signature number, "Fever."

Act II includes a medley of traditional holiday favorites like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "Let It Snow," a bell rendition of "Joy To The World," and the World War II tearjerker, "I'll Be Home For Christmas."

The four-person cast is made up of Jeffrey Shankle as Sparky, John Sheeler as Jinx, Darren McDonnell as Frankie (don't call him Francis!) and Toby's newcomer Jeffrey Higgins as Smudge. These four buoyant singers take us back to the days when we practiced cool moves from "American Bandstand" or listened to 45 RPM records in our basements and dreamed it would last forever.

Tenor John Sheeler almost steals the show with his rendition of "Besame Mucho," a tribute to Rosemary Clooney, and the emotionally charged "Home For The Holidays," while Jeffrey Shankle dazzles with some fancy dance steps.

Other highlights in the 90-minute, song-packed musical include a condensed spoof of "The Ed Sullivan Show." Would you believe that this three-minute romp includes acrobatic tricks, TV characters Jose Jimenez, the Chipmunks and Topo Gigio?

Musical director Brant Challacombe, who won a standing ovation on press night, proves a lively, integral part of the show, playing piano on stage and adding to the fun. Bobby Smith, a great dancer himself, adds a few steps here and there to keep the guys moving through limbo at a super-mortal pace.

If ever these guys want to return again, we suggest a gig at one of those bigwig corporate parties on Wall Street or Detroit. These folks could use a little "Plaid Tidings" to chase away their economic woes.

Meanwhile, Toby's "Plaid Tidings" will appeal to anyone who enjoys memory-jogging and reminiscing about the gang from the audiovisual club, going steady, and - oh, yeah - stretching for those extra-syllables on songs that fade off somewhere up above high C.

"Forever Plaid Presents Plaid Tidings" continues at Toby's -- The Dinner Theatre of Columbia with evening and matinee performances through Jan. 4. Reservations are required. Group rates, custom and gift certificates are available. Call 410-730-8311 or go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com.

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