Reviewer: Mark DeWolf-Ott
Venue: Jolt Credit Union Event Park
You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful Michigan evening for an outdoor concert at the Jolt Credit Union Event Park. The stage and lighting were set and the 60’s music playing over the sound system told you everything was ready to go. The show: RAIN: A tribute to the Beatles.
Rain has played on Broadway and toured for many years. It began in 1975 before other spin offs like Beatlemania and Let it Be: A Beatles Concert Experience. The cast of course were the Fab Four.
Paul Curatolo (Paul) Aaron Chiazza (Ringo) Alaster McNeil (George), Steve Landes (John) and a fifth Beatle Mark Beyer, who played keyboards and synthesizer to fill in the violins and horns. Just for laughs, they were not the original cast members.
The show was basically in four acts. The Berlin Bar era, the Ed Sullivan Show period, the Sergeant Pepper concept album, and the Let it Be, White Album finally. The band gave the basic impression of the boys in the band. Hand gestures and body movements imitated The Beatles. The various costumes and wig changes added to the appearance of the “boys from Liverpool.”
A very 2023 multi-media backdrop added video feed from the live audience, stage performances, and historical video from each act that was being portrayed on stage. There were even 60’s TV commercials played during costume changes that had the audience laughing.
The audience consisted of three generations of fans, with almost everyone wearing some sort of Beatles apparel. Or maybe a t-shirt that said peace, love or come together. It was a testament to the timelessness of the music.
On a scale of one to five of my “How Do You Like Those Apples” rating, I’d give it 4 apples. “All you need is love.”