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Rain: A Tribute To The BeatlesCritiqued by Holly BartgesSeptember 24, 2009 No, they are not the Beatles. There are moments in the show, Rain: A tribute to the Beatles, they don?t even sound like the Beatles, much less look like them. There are also moments, especially during the second act, they move closer to capturing the magical image and the powerful sound of the Fab Four. This especially happens while taking the breath away with Imagine, Let It Be, and Hey Jude. By the time Rain gets to these three representational Beatle anthems, the audience is so caught up in the power of the music, it doesn?t matter what they look like. What does stand out from the moment the lighting flashes them into view is the outstanding musicality Rain owns, understands, and executes.
If one wants to believe Rain is the Beatles reincarnated, so be it. Let it be. It matters not. What matters is the music, the showmanship, the presentation, the experience of the Beatle music, rather than the Beatles themselves. Unfortunately, Rain is scheduled to rattle the walls of the Temple Buell Theatre only through September 27. Would that the run could be longer. During the thrillment of the performance, Joey Curatolo, who sits in for Paul McCartney, called the Opening performance a magical night. We'd love to come back. Can we come back??..celebrating some of the greatest songs ever written. Come back! How about never leaving? Of course, that's impossible, but that was the definite feeling for the Opening Night performance. There was the wanting the concert would go on forever. In the atmosphere Rain creates, reality has nothing to do with anything. The power of the music reaches across every generation, from those who were there and remember to those who interpret the 1960's-1970's as the olden days? A young boy, sitting in the row ahead of me stripped his suit coat, white shirt, and tie during Intermission for a blue Rain tee shirt, his eyes ablaze over the musical banquet feeding his total Being. Along with Curatolo, Rain features Joe Bithorn as George Harrison, Steve Landes as John Lennon, and Ralph Castelli as Ring Starr. Over a two hour Broadway style concert, Rain traces the steps of the Beatles from the time they stepped off an airplane onto New York soil for the 1964 Ed Sullivan show through the recording of their last album, Abby Road. They reflect the changing hairstyles, costumes, to the outrageous military uniforms for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Stephen Gotschel's lighting design electrified the set and musical experience in a highly skilled choreographical dance of its own, becoming a demanding character in its own right.
Three screens combined events of the 60's-70's from JFK, Martin Luther King, civil rights struggles, Shea Stadium, Vietnam and Vietnam protests, and Flower Power, the Summer of Love when young people were encouraged over the radio When You Come To San Francisco, Wear a Flower in Your Hair. Intertwining historical shots with Rain carries a powerful, ingenious multi-media twist. Brilliantly put together, and brilliantly executed. A couple of lame fames stand out with the extremely poor impersonation of Ed Sullivan with hunched shoulders, stiff neck, wacky arm movements, and out of whack voice. Technically it didn't matter, it lasted only a few seconds, and when he introduced the Beatle the lights laughed out loud in sheer delight and Rain intoxicated the audience with a blast of sheer Heaven. Actually, Sullivan deserved better. If he hadn't invited the Beatles to his show, would there have been a British invasion of the four musicians who really understood music rather than just a few chords, who knew how to experiment with sound, and who knew how to breathe soul into notes? Sullivan frequently gets a bad rap because some would-be comedians think he is easy to impersonate, when, in fact, I have yet to see an honest impersonation of him. OK, I digress, since these shots took only a few moments from the stunified concert as a tribute to the Beatles. A tribute, it definitely is; a tribute that indeed allows the commanding music to breathe cleanly and purely coaxing on the revitalized interest in The Music. Sales have soared with the remastering of the famous albums on CD's. Rightfully so, the music transcends decades. The use of synthesizers, mellotrons, and musical intricacies so common today, came as a shot in the arm with the Beatles. They were honest musicians, rather than a group who just played music. Their value will go on for eons because it will take eons for anyone else to overtake them. Rain didn't just happen. It started as a California club band in the 1970's as Reign playing Beatle music often. Eventually, the name was changed to Rain, Although it had no connection to Broadway's Beatlemania, the stars of the Broadway show gravitated to Rain, making it what it is today: a phenomenal breath of fresh air into the heart and soul of astonishing Beatle music. The opening Night audience could barely sit still with arms waving, hands clapping, heads bobbing, and smiles the width of the Buell theatre. Most tribute bands fall flat on their faces, but not Rain. These guys are exquisite musicians who climbed into the heart and soul of the Fab Four and magnificently produce what they saw and heard when they climbed in. A blast of psychedelic lights beamed from the screens. It is a shame rights couldn't have been agreed upon to use footage of the real Sullivan introducing the Fab Four along with more historical film footage of the time period instead of black and white photos. It seems someone missed the boat to honestly delve into that period of time that brought the Beatles to life. It's there. It just could have been a tinge more poignantly creatively forceful. A private note to Curatolo: Can you come back? Anytime you want, anytime Denver Center Attractions has a hole in the Buell schedule (as though I have anything to say about it). Because of the short run, there are skillions of fans who will miss out this time, and that is a tragedy; so, just Come Back. Just because it is a short run, don't give up. Cancelations do happen. Life happens. Plans take a nosedive. Seats do and can become available at the last minute. Keep the Box Office people on their toes, and just keep calling. Go down early to stand in line. Someone might just approach you because you're at the right place at the right time asking if you're wanting a couple of tickets. It's a magical night of magical music including some early obscure songs as well as the beloved anthems. When the pretend Sullivan appears, blink so the mind doesn't have time to take a photo for remembrance, as it did with me. When Curatolo asks if they can come back, tell him YES. As a last resort, call Denver Center Attractions and ask to bring them back. Rain |
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