John and George aren’t dead – They’re in Branson!

Coming back from Silver Dollar City last month, we were inching along
Highway 76, “The Strip”. Rounding the bend by the Mexican restaurant is when
we first noticed the sign. Standing out from the Branson clutter was a huge
sign in front of a theatre. It looked vaguely familiar and as we approached
we found ourselves face to face with the Beatles. Not the REAL Beatles of
course but the Liverpool Legends. We pulled into the parking lot, as much to
get out of traffic as to ask about the show, and suddenly we were hooked.
Coming out of the theatre was Paul McCartney! Wait a minute…this guy was
young! It was Davey, the guy who plays Paul, inviting us to come to the
show. When the box office people saw the kids in the car, THEY suggested a
family pass which saved us a ton of money. So we bought the pass and got
directions on how to get out of traffic!

Showing up that night, my wife and I were ready but we had to explain to the
kids who the Beatles were. I gave up after explaining that this was the
group Paul was in before he went solo and married Heather. That they
understood! We had gotten tickets late in the afternoon and this worked out
because our seats were farther back. The theatre has a raised stage and 8
rows back put us at a good spot where the necks weren’t straining looking
up.

After a brief introduction by George Harrison’s sister, Louise, the lights
came up and the curtain opened. Suddenly we were transformed back in time
and watching 4 young guys who looked and sounded exactly like the Beatles!
They actually sounded better than what 60’s technology was able to record.
The harmonies were there, the guitar chords, the drummer, the vintage
guitars…it was an experience! We got up and danced to an old Carl Perkins
song. We twisted to “Twist and Shout”. We sang along to “Yellow Submarine”
and watched bubbles engulf the stage. We provided accompaniment to “8 Days a
Week”. And this was only the first half!

Intermission was welcomed. We went to the snack bar and got a large pop and
popcorn for $3. Louise was there and while we didn’t buy anything she still
talked to us and she especially liked talking to the kids. Back in the seats
for the second half and it opened up with Louise sharing stories about what
it was like with the real Beatles. Then the music started again with “Sgt
Pepper”. Costumes looked authentic and the kids enjoyed a psychedelic light
show.

Musicianship was amazing. Marty, who plays George, showed he can play
acoustic guitar solos as well as electric rock guitar. Kevin, who portrays
John, plays everything great and morphs himself into John over 3 different
phases of his career. All they needed was a Yoko to fill it out. Joe on the
drums looked and sounded just like Ringo and even provided the comic relief.
Bob on the keyboard was amazing on being able to play all the horns and
strings and everything else. Of course, everyone associates the Beatles with
the cute one, Paul. Davey had everyone believing that he WAS the real one.
He could hit the high notes like Little Richard and still sing songs like
“Eleanor Rigby” or “Yesterday”.

All in all an outstanding show that we would love to see again. BTW, we
ended up buying pictures and CD’s and had everyone sign them after the show!

Oscar
 

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