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Yes, the four Plaid lads are back. And the Little Theatre of Alexandria has them, in fine form for the Christmas season -- in an affectionate tribute to 1950s nostalgia, in a guffaw-inducing laugh riot.

The "Fab Four" are a spitting-image facsimile of all those close-harmony guy groups of the 1950s, like the Four Aces and the Four Freshmen. Why did they always come in packages of four? The answer can probably be found in the vocal ranges of the barbershop quartet.

Anyway, just imagine our four Plaids, brought back one more time from a capella heaven to stage one last concert, this time guided by the late Rosemary Clooney, their guardian angel. Inspiration literally comes from above, as notes from Clooney drift down from heaven to the boys on stage as they try to figure out what they are supposed to be doing back on Earth.

Remember that they died in the original show, "Forever Plaid," on the day the music really died -- killed instantly when they were broadsided by a bus filled with Catholic school girls on their way to see the Beatles debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Indeed, the sequel, "Plaid Tidings," begins as the four deliciously goofy, boyishly charming Plaids enter carrying candles through the audience chanting "Deus Ex Plaid." And then one of them from the stage looks out to see the audience and says "I see live people."

And from there, and especially in Act 2, it's all a breezy sleigh ride through the great hits of the Christmas season, with one high point surely being the time when the boys depict, in rapid-fire sequence, the Vienna Boys Choir, the Radio City Rockettes, the Flying Wallendas, the Singing Nun and Alvin and the Chipmunks. Get the picture?

There are jokes aplenty, as they squabble over everything or when one calls out to the audience, "Hey there, in the back! Is that Ernest Borgnine? ... Oh, sorry, ma'am," and then mimes, "Call me."

And yes, the boys pay melodic tribute to classics such as "Stranger in Paradise," "Sh-boom," "Mambo Italiano," "Hey There," and "Fever." But best of all, they bring back Perry Como, Peggy Lee and of course the divine Ms. Clooney, in songs such as "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Then there's their version of the "Carol of the Bells," complete with handbells for precision ringing and a calypso verion of "Matilda, She Take My Money and Go Christmas Shopping," including an audience sing-along.

"Plaid Tidings" -- originally staged off-Broadway in 1990 and written by Stuart Ross -- is now performed all over the world. And its sequel is also all about the audience and the boys' one last concert, bidding their sweet farewell and our own shout-out back to them, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

'Plaid Tidings'

-Through Dec. 20 at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria

-703-683-0496 or www.thelittletheatre.com