The Beatles may have had a hit with "Here Comes the Sun," but it's Rain that is drawing in audiences. You might call this salute to the Fab Four a multi-media musical, cover-band concert, or musical theater. Nevertheless, with Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway, it all spells H-I-T. The reason? It's energetic, entertaining, with crackerjack musicians and nostalgia to burn.
This is not a book musical; there is no story, just re-creations of the various Beatles' eras -- those mop top/psychedelic/Nehru jacket days, the days they went metaphysical and the old-time rock ' roll that colored their early music. There are no reinterpretations but spot-on original renditions, and four generations of audience members are eating it up, getting into the music as they're encouraged to clap and sing along.
Brooklyn-born Joey Curatola plays Paul with a convincing Liverpool accent and does most of the audience interaction, urging participation, even instructing, "Everyone under 18 sing, 'La, la, la, lalalala'" and encouraging an audience a cappella, "When I'm 64."
Makeup, wigs and costumes create some physical resemblance to the actual Beatles, but it is vocally and instrumentally that they are on-target and compelling. While the group does not sing the title song, "Rain," over 30 songs are performed.
Curatolo has a touching solo on "Yesterday" and evokes the vitality in such early tunes as, "I Saw her Standing There." Steve Landes (John) performs "Strawberry Fields," Joe Bithorn's George offers the plaintive, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and Ralph Castelli as Ringo sings, "With a Little Help from My Friends."
Mark Beyer, hardly seen, plays keyboards and percussion at the side of the stage, adding heft to the music though he's not part of the quartet. The songs are all are performed live.
Without the latest explosive gimmickry or swinging on cables, the show is the group, their music and your memories. Video screens embroider the Beatles era with historical footage, laughable television commercials, and pop Beatles' trivia quizzes. Live cameras zoom in for audience close-ups, especially during the finale, "Hey, Jude." There was no one leaving the theater until the group returned for that number.
Extended twice at the Neil Simon Theater and about to transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theater, Rain took seven weeks of performances to recoup its $2 million Broadway capitalization through ticket sales. While not an in-depth study of the Fab Four, Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles on Broadway, is a fine tribute and great fun for those who remember.
