From mop tops to flower power, Rain The Beatles Experience brings the full range of the Liverpool lads to city for the first time May 15 and 16 at the Port Theatre.
Rain will be bringing the extended version of their popular show to the Port Theatre for the first time. Joe Bithorn, who plays George Harrison, says the show is quite varied, spanning the time from when the group appeared on the Ed Sullivan show to their All You Need is Love and Abbey Road phase. The band consists of New Yorkers Joey Curatolo portraying Paul McCartney, Bithorn, Steve Landes as John Lennon and Los Angeleno Ralph Castelli as Ringo Starr. Keyboardist and founding member Mark Lewis works backstage playing piano and organ and inserting necessary sounds of the Beatles background instrumentation. Bithorn joined Rain in 1983, after being part of Beatlemania tribute show, but the band has been around since about 1977. The show is a multi media presentation of what the Beatles might have been like had they had the technology and history lesson we've had, Bithorn said.
"To me it's like their finest hour," Bithorn said. "It's called the Beatles Experience for a reason."
Bithorn said while obviously all the members of the band are Beatles fans, it goes beyond that. The shows are fun to do, but they work hard to make sure they're done well.
"The fact we get to do this is a blessing, it's a gift, but we do pay ultimate respect to them," he said. "There's a lot of musical integrity involved in what we do with the show. If you're going to do this you really have to hit the mark."
All the songs are done in their original keys, making it quite authentic.
"You have to be a real true tenor," Bithorn said. "We're lucky in the front, our Paul McCartney and our John Lennon, we just have a remarkable blend together."
The show runs the gamut from 1964 to the band's break up in 1970. The first set is a recreation of the Beatle's performance on the Ed Sullivan Show with a similar set, costumes, and hair. The show is projected onto a screen in black and white. The next set is songs from Hard Days Night as performed at Shea Stadium, except better, Bithorn said.
"As I hear it, the sound was terrible, the lighting was terrible and even if you could hear past the screaming audience, they just didn't have the technology we do today," he said.
The third set is a Sgt. Pepper tribute, again complete with costumes. The next set features the Indian style music George Harrison became famous for and the All You Need is Love phase. There is an acoustic set and the last set includes songs from Abbey Road. Bithorn said the show is incredibly popular with fans of all ages.
"It's remarkable, it's a testament to what this music has to offer to people," he said. "We bring back a lot of memories but when you look at our audience you see people from six to 60 that know the lyrics because it's still very prevalent today."
Tickets are available at the Port Theatre box office and charge by phone at 754-8550.