The ghostly members of "Forever Plaid" find themselves singing with a confidence they never had in life. Clockwise, from left Kevin McMahon as Jinx, Mark Perkins as Frankie, Douglas Frank as Smudge and J. Gregory Davis (substituting for Dale Sandish) as Sparky. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

"Forever Plaid" lets you root for the underdog, onstage and off.

You won't see any other Las Vegas showmen stricken by the almost simultaneous need for an asthma inhaler, milk of magnesia and something to plug a nosebleed.

That's the endearing appeal of the Four Plaids, the fictional 1950s harmony group that finds itself pulled down from the heavens for the big-time gig it always rehearsed for, but was denied by a fatal encounter with a busload of schoolgirls bound for a Beatles concert.

Believe it or not, the off-Broadway hit, with only four actors and two musicians at the Gold Coast, actually has a couple of things in common with the epic "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular" at The Venetian.

Both musicals came to Las Vegas late in their theatrical life, yet both returned to the original creators -- Stuart Ross for "Plaid," Hal Prince for "Phantom" -- to ensure it's not a hand-me-down production.

Though "Plaid" is out there among community groups and regional theaters, the Gold Coast offers the only ongoing, professional version in the country. The top-flight performers even recorded a new cast album to replace the out-of-print original. It's one of the best shows for families in Las Vegas, is a perfect fit for its 400-seat room and is very fairly priced amid out-of-control ticket costs on the Strip.

Nonetheless, producer Richard Martini says "we had a very tough summer."

While he adds, "I think half the town had a very tough summer," it's clear that "Plaid" was left in the dust of the runaway response to another cabaret musical, "Menopause The Musical," if not "Phantom." (Another connection: "Plaid" co-star Bruce Ewing left to become a smaller fish in a bigger pond by joining the "Phantom" ensemble.)

But Ross and Martini are forging on as bravely as the four insecure lads who gradually converge into a supernaturally good quartet. They plan to bring back "Plaid Tidings," the Christmas version of the show, in mid-November. And they're considering a plan to rework the regular show into a new edition, half-jokingly talking about naming it "Plaid du Soleil."

It's a sort of can't-beat-'em approach to the work, acknowledging that many people think of "Plaid" as a revue, not a scripted musical. Ticket-buyers don't expect "Phantom" to have a different story line each time they see it, but seem disappointed when "Plaid" has the same songs.

That's a testament to creator Ross' skill at submerging a story arc that keeps building and offering new surprises. The four singers go from using bathroom plungers as microphones for "Perfidia" to a mini-production number for "Matilda" and a prop-filled distillation of "the entire Ed Sullivan show in three minutes and 11 seconds."

Most of the performers have been doing the title a long time, giving the characters easy interaction and plenty of detail. Douglas Frank was in the first Las Vegas run at the Flamingo, from 1995 through 2001. Frank's nervous character Smudge and Dale Sandish's smart aleck Sparky play well against the more subdued characters of Frankie (Mark Perkins) and Jinx (Kevin McMahon).

The comedy is balanced by sterling performances of songs that haven't been done to death by the latest aging pop star to record the Sinatra songbook. There are universal favorites such as "Shangri-La" and "Cry," the latter sung by McMahon with a swing-for-the-fences tenor. But new generations can discover less-remembered tunes such as the Four Lads hit "No, Not Much" and the Crew-Cuts' "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby."

The show also makes an effortless transition between spoofy jokes such as "You never want to let go of your parts," to a poignant ending that suddenly takes the whimsical ghost premise seriously: "Nobody even noticed us die," one character laments.

If that portends the show's eventual fate in Las Vegas, it won't go without a similar sadness from fans who have come to love "Plaid." The trademark attorneys would no doubt disagree, but we'd prefer to think that "Plaid du Soleil" has a shot after all.