BEACH REPORTER
Manhattan Beach, California

PLAY REVIEW

Fab Four Revisited

By KENT STODDART
BEACH REPORTER

The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute to the Beatles opened Saturday evening at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, in association with Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, to an enthusiastic and slightly hysterical audience. The pulse was pumping, the toe was tapping and every audience member from 6 to 64 was finding it difficult to keep their bum on the seat. Thankfully, the boys had the audience on their feet as much as possible while they still delivered the group's clever quips and silly sarcasm, from their popular movies and interviews.

The four Liverpudlians — John, Paul, George and Ringo — not only cooperatively changed the direction of popular music, but they touched the planet's collective soul. Love, peace and joy reverberate through each lyric and melody. The glue that bound the four lads together was the unabashed elation and energy they received from playing their music.

Fortunately, Ron McNeil (John Lennon), Andy Sarraf (Paul McCartney), Michael Amador (George Harrison), and Rolo Sandoval (Ringo Starr) know that the concoction that created the Beatles' magical chemistry becomes solidified in that sheer jubilation. This, needless to say, became contagious with each and every audience member Saturday evening. McNeil, Sarraf, Amador and Sandoval realize that the idea of "tribute band" goes beyond accurate mimicry -- and these guys have it down pat from dialect, hair and facial ticks to screams, head-bobbing "oohs" and left-handed violin bass -- they know they must embody the Beatles' message. This collective knowledge is the key to this particular show's success.

The show begins with the Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and ends on the rooftop of Apple Studios. The 10-year run of the Beatles has a perfect dramatic arch: the expository period of the stylishly innovative band that even parents liked from 1959 to 1965; the conflict and climax that produced the musical genius of Sgt. Pepper from 1966 to 1967; to the unraveling of the band via ego and directional differences from 1968 to 1969.

The show's build and unfortunate denouement is masterfully charted by the band and by their choice of Beatle music. The choice of songs almost creates the ideal book to the Beatles' story. The climax of the show occurs at the beginning of the second act when the Redondo Beach Civic Light Opera takes the stage with the band to deliver an amazing tribute to Sgt. Pepper. The production values of television cameras, film clips, go-go dancers, flying yellow submarine, hair, makeup and costumes seem to harmonize beautifully with the Beatles legacy. This is a lovely tribute to four men who changed the world. Unfortunately, two have left us too soon, yet their music lives on.