I don’t attend many musicals. They’re not my thing. I quite enjoyed Avenue Q a few weeks ago but I went by invitation so that doesn’t really count. But I couldn’t resist the special offer of a $19.64 ticket to see Rain, the Beatles tribute show at the Brooks Atkinson.
They were celebrating the anniversary of The Beatles coming to America in 1964. Get it? I’d see pretty much anything for $19.64. I’d even see Spider-Man!
The producers, cleverly, assume that everyone knows the history of The Beatles and dispenses with any kind of plot. It’s purely a concert production and whether or not you enjoy it depends entirely on how much you like The Beatles. (A pretty obvious indictment but it needed to be said.) Well, I like The Beatles a lot so I had a fine time.
I don’t think the actors resembled The Beatles in the least, despite the wigs and copious amounts of make-up. Joey Curatolo, the Paul McCartney doppelganger, looked a bit like him. But if you close your eyes and listen, they sound just like The Beatles. There were a few moments of real brilliance and they were masters of their instruments. They worked hard to pull the audience in.
They ran through The Beatles catalog in chronological order cherry picking a few songs from each album. There were a few breaks for costume changes. They ran the gamut from skinny ties to collarless jackets all they way through the Sgt. Pepper outfits, which looked terrific.
Does anyone know where I got the title for this post? No cheating!
Exile on Pain Street 
Did you mean ‘Semolina Pilchard’?From ‘I am the walrus’? :¬)(Yes, I do love the Fab Four!)
Map! Where have you been!? Hope you’re okay. I did, indeed, mean Semolina Pilchard. I Googled it and thought I got it right. Rats.
i did not know anyway, sugar! xoxoxo
in a fight between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, who would win? i’d pick the stones because keith richards is a motherf—ing zombie…
Sav: I don’t think the word is English. I think it might be British.Dais: It’s The Beatles. Hands down. Mick Jagger has charisma but I don’t think he’s got a very good singing voice. Neither does Bob Dylan. There. I said it.
Coo Coo ca-choo!Oh yeah, I remember that song! I love the Beatles. Beatles over Stones or Dylan any day.
Would the Americans have said jello pilchard instead of semolina pilchard?We used to be force fed semolina for desert at school – it was yuk.SX..Oh… I also am a Beatles fan…
*dessert…Sx
i love the Beatles.but i LOVE the Stones.
Mr. Map got in first.A nice blast from the past-thanks.
Ponita: After your lottery win, before you buy my Shakespeare second folio, you can get us seats to this show. I’d love to see it again.Scarlet: I had to Google the damn thing. Is it still sold? Is it dangerous?Ellie: It’s the argument for the ages, I suppose. But I think The Beatles have much, much more range than the Stones ever had.Dinah: I think they have some videos on the landing page of their site. It’s a fun evening!
The Beatles were my first love, from the time I was five. My best friend and I would serenade my parents with the entire catalogue, lyric for lyric. We could even take requests! So yes, I knew the reference.The Stones were my later idols, especially 1970s-era Keef.But I have to agree with you: The Beatles have more range. And if you listen carefully, they’re just as menacing as the Stones.
Guess I’d better go buy a winning ticket today. Someone keeps selling me losers. 😉
dripping from a dead dogs eye!
Stones all the way. The world’s greatest rock band. DirtyDruggieShag anything that movesRudeCrudeAnd yes Daisyfae nailed it:Keith Richards is the Zombie KingBut after that I still think the Beatles were better musicians but not better rockers.Funnily enough I now have the same conversation with my son debating the merits of Jay Z and Kanye West.Arrghhh…..
The Beatles never die. They were a 60’s band but in the 80’s when I was a teen their music was reborn and in the last 5 years you see it again. My nephew is so into them now like he discovered the band. Go Beatles Go.
When I saw the title of this post I thought it was going to be some very weird recipe.
Leah: I don’t know how you feel about Bway musicals but you should consider taking this in. I think you’d really enjoy it.Sausage: You’ve made a most telling argument. The Stones are all about image. Image! Image! Image! Keith has that one lick he’s been reworking for decades. The Beatles are all about content. Christine: I’ve fed my daughters a pretty steady diet of Beatles music and they love it. That stuff is TIMELESS, I tell ‘ya!Eryl: You, of the kitchen, would expect something like that! I didn’t even know it was food until very recently.
If you love The Beatles, you should really check out these guys. they will blow your mind.http://www.strawberryfieldsthetribute.com/
Wonderful. I would go!The Beatles were a pivot point in history.
Anglophile: I’ve heard about those guys. They occasionally do a Sunday brunch at BB King’s in Times Square. Now that you mention it, taking the family to that could be an alternative to Bway ticket prices.XL: It’s funny you mention that because during the costume changes, to keep the audience engaged, they ran videos of historical touchstones during the 60s’.
Rain? that has to be Somerset Maugham’s gripping story of Sadie Thompson and the wicked priest. Made a big impression on me and I had a similar experience, apart from the fact that I wasn’t a woman of easy virtue.Or have I got the wrong title?Rolling Stones any day of the week. Keith always had a knife and usually a gun I’m sorry to say.
I like the photo. Are you sure you didn’t accidentally attend a Captain Morgan product launch?
The guy in the middle looks quite a lot like George Harrison in that photo at least
Pat: You don’t strike me as a Stones girl but there you go. Serves me right for making an assumption.kykn: From the neck up they didn’t look so much like The Beatles. But it wasn’t a wax museum, after all.Nurse: Welcome home from your trip! It’s Photoshop trickery. He didn’t resemble Geo at all.