[rating=4] They are back! The highly energetic masterfully done tribute to the Beatles-“RAIN” is back in town, but only for a week. This production, a sterling walk down memory lane for most of the audience at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre and almost as exciting as it must have been to see and hear them in concert, oh, so many years ago. This 2 plus hours of distraction from our everyday lives is sheer enjoyment and a wonderful experience where audience members joined in and stood at their seats clapping hands to the beat and almost dancing ( the older ones knew every word).
This is a return engagement but works much better in the Oriental theatre- on each side of the stage there is a screen as well as another behind the four men ( in actuality five as there is a keyboard man) who bring these memories alive as they become the visions of our history and that of the men they portray. The sounds they make are fab! The lighting effects amazing! And the video that tells their history and allows us to see what they caused when they brought their sound to the United States are stunning, bringing back the news and the signs of the times.
They, of course do all the standard Beatle songs- “I Want To Hold Your Hand”,”Hard Day’s Night”, “Come Together”, “Let It Be”, “Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and of course, to end the show “Hey Jude”, where every one, young and old were on their feet. All the classic songs and then some that were never performed as well These men are solid performers and musicians who take on these roles, not as just a job, but rather their mission- to keep the Beatles alive as the group that changed the musical world. Just think about these men and how long they have been performing this work- longer than the Beatles themselves lasted as a group. As time goes on, they may have to find younger men with the same heart and desire to keep this music alive so that future generations will have a better understanding of the complexity of the music brought to us by these four lads from Liverpool and made the 60’s the start of the new wave. Steve Landes,Graham Alexander,Tom Teeley,Doug Cox and Chris Smallwood on the keyboards- thank you for making this evening something special- for me and for what turned out to be about 1,500 of my new closest friends.
For those of you ready to relive your past, or to learn more about the “Fab Four”, “Rain” A Tribute To The Beatles, is only here through Sunday with performances”
Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.,Friday at 8 p.m.,Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets range from $35-$75 and can be purchased at any of The Broadway In Chicago box offices, by calling the Broadway In Chicago Ticketline at 800-775-2000, at all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com
If you want to learn more about the tour, visit www.raintribute.com
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