Forever Plaid: Well, that explains a lot!
So, in lieu of Scot’s review of the FOREVER PLAID cinecast that we saw last night (thanks again, Mr. Caggiano!) I must confess that I developed a little crush on David Engel, the actor who played Smudge in the show. Like Scot says, he’s adorably goofy, but also very handsome, and carries off the nerdy glasses really well. He’s also got a nice voice and is very charismatic on stage.
So this morning, after reading Scot’s post, I was doing a little google searching for pictures of David and what I found put a little smile on my face. David Engel and Larry Raben (Jason Graae’s replacement as Sparky) are more than just partners in entertainment… it turns out they are life partners as well, as stated in this interview in Grigware Talks Theatre. They’re engaged, and have been a couple of around 15 years. Isn’t that sweet? No wonder I found him so attractive.
Okay, so we were wondering why these boys say in the Grigware interview that they met in the original production when we all know that Jason Graae played Sparky in it, not Larry. Well, it turns out that originally, Larry was director Stuart Ross’s assistant for the show!
And now, you know I’ve started a marital squabble by suggesting Larry looks too old for his part and that David doesn’t. I’m always putting my foot in it.
Larry Raben, David Engel and Stan Chandler talk about the origins of Plaid in an article posted on the LA Stage Blog http://www.lastageblog.com/2009/07/06/the-plaids-20-years-later/
According to the post, they rotated in the show, depending on who was available. So Larry was there for the NY run.
Additionally, at last years LA Ovation Awards, LR won for Best Musical Direction for Singing in the rain, and thanked his husband, David Engel. Guess they aren’t engaged any more!
PS: (Sparky’s my fav, too. I think he’s a cutie just the way he is. There is too much pretty in the Engel/Raben household.)