RAIN – A Tribute To The Beatles

Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, styled RAIN, is a Beatles tribute and later a theatrical production. ''Rain'' gives audiences the experience of seeing Beatles' songs performed live that were never done so by the band itself. It predates the popular Broadway show ''Beatlemania'' by several years. ''Rain'' has played Broadway, and toured for years.

The show takes the form of a roughly chronological history of The Beatles via their music. About 30 songs are performed during the show. Other than some onstage banter, there is very little dialogue during the production, which consists mostly of exact re-enactments of the Beatles' music. The multimedia production uses high-definition backdrops that feature psychedelic effects, vintage television commercials, and video footage of ''Rain'' cast members recreating iconic Beatle moments. For legal reasons, ''Rain'' never calls its performers the names of the actual members of The Beatles.Jones, Chris
"'Let It Be': Why show coming to Rosemont is a Beatles 'celebration',"
''Chicago Tribune'' (February 19, 2015).

Each production of ''Rain'' features two performers for each member of the Beatles, who alternate shows; plus an off-stage keyboardist to replicate the studio sounds familiar from later Beatles records.

History

Rain began in 1975 as Reign,Sion, Mike
"Rain: New generation takes reins of Beatles tribute,"
''Reno Gazette-Journal'' (January 23, 2015). a Laguna Beach, California, band that played both original music and Beatles covers. Founding members were Mark Lewis, Eddie Lineberry, Bill Connearney, Grant Belotti, Chuck Coffey, and Steve Wight. (Connearney, Belotti, Lineberry, and Alan Hawley had been members of a prior band known as Lucky Dogs.) The name of the band, "Reign/Rain," is a reference to the 1966 Beatles single "Rain," the B-side of "Paperback Writer."Isherwood, Charles
"Another Long and Winding Detour,"
''New York Times'' (October 26, 2010).

Co-founder and keyboardist Mark Lewis managed the band, became its lead arranger, and found Rain a regular weekly gig doing Beatles covers at the Mine Shaft in Calabasas, California.Marinucci, Steve. "Tribute band Rain isn't the Beatles, but they play them -- and very successfully," Examiner.com (October 18, 2010). Before long Rain had a following of Beatles fans around the Los Angeles/Orange County area, and soon extended up the West Coast as far as Seattle.

As the band developed a reputation, they performed at the 1978 Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. In 1979, producer Dick Clark hired Rain members to record exact Beatles covers for the Richard Marquand film ''Birth of the Beatles''.Wilson, Debra Mino
"'Rain — A Tribute to Beatles' set Monday,"
''Times West Virginian'' (March 13, 2014).

By 1980, Lewis had built the band into a long-standing touring tradition. The lineup of Rain remained constant until 1980, with Lineberry playing John Lennon, Coffey playing Paul McCartney, Connearney playing George Harrison, and Belotti playing Ringo Starr (with Lewis playing keyboards behind the scenes). Joey Curatolo joined Rain in 1978, sharing the role of Paul with Coffey; Curatolo is still a current member of Rain.

Lineberry left Rain in 1980, and Coffey, Connearney, and Belotti all left in 1982. Joe Bithorn joined the group as "George" in 1983, and is still with Rain. Ralph Castell joined Rain in 1986 as Ringo, and is still with the show.

In 2001 the Rain Corporation took over management of the band. In 2005, management met with producer Jeff Parry to expand the tribute band's scope — which at that point was mostly doing concerts at casinos — and develop a Broadway-style production in the manner of 1977's ''Beatlemania''. The result of this planning eventually became the 2010 Broadway run.Grode, Eric
"Can’t Buy Me Love? A Lawsuit Debates It: A Beatles Tribute Show Seeks Half the Revenues of Another,"
''New York Times'' (July 15, 2013).

In 2008, Pollstar listed ''Rain'' at number 17 in its yearly "Pollstar's Hot Top 20" for overall tickets sales of a touring show, band, or production.

''Rain'' played Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in 2009. In 2010 the production performed at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre and New Orleans' Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts.

In 2009, on the eve of Rain moving to Broadway, the Rain Corporation and Parry's Annerin Productions agreed to produce a West End theatre version of the show, with both sides splitting the profits 50-50.

''Rain'' ran on Broadway for 300 shows (and 8 preview performances), first at the Neil Simon Theatre on October 26, 2010 – January 15, 2011, then at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8, 2011 – July 31, 2011.Internet Broadway Database
/ref>

In 2012, Parry/Annerin Productions put on ''Let It Be'', a Beatles "concert experience"Gioia, Michael
"Producers of Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles File Copyright Infringement Suit Against Broadway's Let It Be,"
''Playbill'' (July 16, 2013). that played in London's West End. In 2013, on the eve of ''Let It Be'' coming to Broadway, the Rain Corporation filed a copyright suit against Parry and his fellow ''Let It Be'' producers. ''Rain'' claimed that ''Let It Be'' was essentially the same concept as ''Rain'', with similar artwork, costumes, and virtually the same song repertoire, and that ''Rain'' was entitled to 50% of ''Let It Bes profits." Parry and Annerin instead proposed giving Rain Corporation 7.5% of their profits. The case was settled out of court.

Synopsis

The show begins with the four actors portraying an early version of The Beatles' appearance at the Cavern Club in 1962. When this scene closes, The Beatles journey to America, beginning their tour at ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Moving forward, The Beatles' directions are changing musically while their band grows in popularity performing their largest concert at New York City's Shea Stadium

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases