He’s happy
to wear ‘Plaid’

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

He’s says he’s been lucky in more ways than one — especially when it comes to his career.
Michael Susko believes his luck started when he was a young teen and his father took him to see the Broadway show, A Chorus Line. According to Susko, that’s the defining moment that made everything clear to him.
"From that moment on I was hooked. I knew that was what I had to do with my life," he said.
Another lucky moment came when, after deciding to become a performer and graduating from the Boston Conservatory of Music, he has never once had to have what he called a "survival job. My only work has been in keeping with my career."
And perhaps one of the luckiest moments of all came when Susko moved to New York and met with an agent who, the performer said, gave him the best advice ever.
"He told me that what I needed to do was to have something else to do with my time that had nothing to do with show business, whether that meant taking a cooking class, or joining a bowling league," he said. "Because, in that way, every time people asked what you were up to you could tell them about your great cookies, or your wonderful score in bowling. That keeps you from saying I’m not doing anything, from saying or thinking such negative thoughts."
And that, said Susko, now appearing in Forever Plaid at the Bristol Riverside Theatre through May 13, is advice he happily passes along to others he runs across who might love to be in show business.
Over the years, Susko has toured in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady, Camelot, 42nd Street, even the show that started it all, A Chorus Line. He’s also amassed a number of regional credits, and is now happy to be returning to the BRT for his role as Sparky in Forever Plaid.
Sent careening into the afterlife before their 1964 debut, the Plaids have been miraculously revived to present their concert that never was. The Doo-Wop quartet lets audiences relive the 1950s, performing harmonious renditions to classics including Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Three Coins in the Fountain, Heart and Soul, and many more.
First performed in 1990, Forever Plaid remains popular with audiences because, Susko believes, "people just love the show. First of all, you can’t beat the music. It’s four charming men singing some really great music, music that everyone knows. Maybe it’s the four-part harmony, the innocence of the time and the simplicity of the show that makes it all come to together and work."
For Susko, who majored in musical theater with a concentration on directing, he feels the future might provide a wonderful opportunity to get behind the scenes and do some directing. "I can’t see myself ever out of the theater, but I’ve done so much and have so much knowledge that maybe it’s time to start using it and direct some projects."
Still, he added, nothing quite matches being out there on stage.
"When people are really watching the show and really getting into it, that provides an elation like no other," he said. "Nothing can compare to that feeling."
Susko, who plays the trumpet, sings, dances and acts, and again views himself as "very lucky," refuses to describe himself, preferring to leave that up to others.
"I try to let the people making the decisions describe me in their own terms, because I think once I describe myself, I’m pretty much pigeonholed," he said, "but I think because I can do all I can do, I’ve been able to keep on working all these years. Lucky, isn’t it?" ••
For times and ticket information, call 215-785-0100.