Backbeat: The Birth of the Beatles

Backbeat is literally a blast from the past, a near-three-hour explosion of Beatles history, dance, music and song. Performed by a 21-person, youthful and multi-talented cast (many of whom have previously done the show in Glasgow and London), Backbeat dramatizes the early years (1960s) of the Liverpudlian lads who honed their craft in Hamburg's red-light district, playing eight hours a night in a strip club owned by a sleazeball ex-Nazi named Bruno Koschmider (Edward Clarke).

First calling themselves The Quarriers, John Lennon (Andrew Knott), Stuart Sutcliffe (Nick Blood), Pete Best (Oliver Bennett), Paul McCartney (Daniel Healy) and George Harrison (Daniel Westwick) spent a total of 1,200 working nights in Hamburg, playing mostly covers of Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent hits but also dabbling in jazz, blues and original tunes while fending off drunks, hecklers, hookers and groupies. It was a musical apprenticeship spent in the heat of battle, one that was powered by beer, uppers and wild sex, but it eventually paid off in a large way. The lads eventually found their own voice and, under the name of the Beatles, went on to rock and roll fame and fortune.

Backbeat is not an exercise in hagiography. On the contrary, it delves into the dark side of the Beatles’ success story: the premature, tragic death of Stuart Sutcliffe, who cared more about painting than playing the bass, and the callous firing of the band's drummer, Pete Best. There is also a gripping love story at the heart of Backbeat -- Sutcliffe had a German girlfriend, Astrid Kircherr (Leanne Best) -- and a less-than-flattering portrait of the ruthlessly ambitious John Lennon. The show’s complex story takes place on a moody, multi-level industrial set; lighting, sound, and video projection also enhance the underground atmosphere. As for the music, dozens of tunes are played and sung by the lead actors, each of whom could make a living as a rock musician. They make you believe they are the reincarnation of the youthful Beatles, especially when, at show's end, they belt out a medley of classic Beatle songs. It brings the audience up to its feet and turns the night into an old-fashioned sing-along, a love fest.