Rain — A Tribute to the Beatles
Tickets from $50 Buy Tickets
Summary
Can't afford that Las Vegas trip this year? A visit to the Beatles tribute concert Rain could easily fill the void—for a couple of hours at least. In this musical spectacle disguised as a Broadway show, four musician-vocalists (Steve Landes, Joey Curatolo, Joe Bithorn, Ralph Castelli) sing some of John, Paul, George and Ringo's greatest hits, sounding just like the Fab Four—and looking more like them the further back you sit.
To the creators' credit, this isn't a jukebox musical with a plot loosely scripted around the music. The songs—including "A Hard Day's Night," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Yesterday"—are the story, and they take us from the Beatles' American entrée on Ed Sullivan and the zealous insanity of their Shea Stadium concert to their Sgt. Pepper's and Abbey Road years—with breaks for appropriate wig and costume changes.
The mood is upbeat and nostalgic. There's no mention of Yoko or of John's untimely death, just a barrage of classic rock—although you'll have to kick back and chill out for about 90 minutes or so before some of the splashiest, most rewarding numbers unfurl, among them "Give Peace a Chance," "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be." During that last one, the audience is encouraged to turn on their cell phones and wave them around in lieu of lighters.
It's good fun, so it's a shame that the troupe has to resort to the hard sell by pushing the audience into bouts of forced clapping and standing. It only highlights the contrivance of an experience that's trying so hard to be organic but has been loaded with artificial flavor.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://www.raintribute.com
Cast
Steve Landes, Joey Curatolo, Joe Bithorn, Ralph Castelli, Mark Beyer
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/19/2010
Closing 7/31/2011
Box Office
212-307-4100
Theatre Info
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
256 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
Comments
Sign up for our newsletter !