Phillyist Reviews... RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles

The Beatles have arrived in Philadelphia, or at least they have according to the extremely enthusiastic audience present for last night's opening of RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles at the Academy of Music. OK, they aren't the real Beatles, for obvious reasons, but given the excitement that filled the four-story theater, you might have thought John Lennon had staged a Lazarus-style comeback for our musical enjoyment. Three generations of Beatles fans clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and even sang along as the Fab Four—or their extremely convincing ninja clones—took us on a journey from Ed Sullivan to Abbey Road.

Not only does the group look like the real deal, they sound like them, too. The music is performed live, with no prerecorded tapes or sequences, which is pretty impressive, to say the least. The costumes were absolutely fantastic and embraced the spirit of each musical time period. The Sergeant Pepper costumes received the most attention from the crowd, but this Phillyist was having a hard time trying to block the mental image of "George Harrison's" costume, arguably borrowed from Captain Feathersword or Cap'n Crunch—the jury is still out on this one. Large projector screens were set up on each side of the stage in order to provide the audience with video clips of events that were happening in the world at the time the songs were released. They also threw in some '50s-style product commercials to set the mood, which included a Flinstones commercial advertising Winston cigarettes and a Duz laundry powder commercial featuring free pantyhose in every box. Needless to say, these commercials were more than worthy of Mystery-Science-Theater-3000-style commentary.

As for the music, they performed many of the timeless classics we all know and love, and even resurrected some of the more obscure songs that were rarely performed in front of live audiences. The band was absolutely flawless and did a wonderful job capturing the personalities and singing styles of the legendary icons. Husbandist admitted to getting chills when "Paul McCartney," portrayed by Joey Curatolo, sang "Yesterday." Joe Bithorn, who portrayed "George Harrison," earned a standing ovation for his solo in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Philly-area native, Steve Landes, "John Lennon," surprised us with an unbelievable encore of "Imagine," which silenced the audience within seconds. And even though they weren't showcased as much as the others, Ralph Castelli, "Ringo Starr," and Mark Lewis, "the fifth Beatle," deserve some recognition for a job well done.

If you love the Beatles, but never had the opportunity to see them live, then Phillyist suggests you haul yourself over to the Academy and witness the more than reasonable facsimile known as RAIN. You will not be disappointed—unless you're one of the fortunate souls who saw the real Beatles perform back in the day. Go forth, Beatles fans, but make sure to leave your hippie paraphernalia at home. There is an announcement at the beginning of the show that prohibits smoking anything during the performance!

RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles
Academy of Music (240 South Broad St.)
Tues., Feb. 2 through Sun., Feb. 7
Tues. through Sat., 8:00 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $35 - $85