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Not-so-fab four don't make Yesterday live again
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| | The Aussie version of the Fab Four doesn't quite succeed in re-creating the Beatles' genius.Photo: Marilyn Barnard |
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April 2, 2009
 By Gisele Turner
Beatlemania
Performers: Paul Green, Michael Brady, Chris Frazer and Cameron Charters
Director: Showtime Australia
Where: izulu Theatre, Sibaya
When: Runs to April 5
Rating: **
When we were young we were dying to hold someone's hand or rock 'n roll with an attractive stranger in the hope that true romance would be ours. The songs of our youth were like milestones; flags waving as each phase of our life was reached, passed and left behind.
Play those songs today and the memories rush back: this dress was worn, that boy was kissed and the twist was learnt at that church hop. Wind forward 40 years and our youth, along with most of its delicious and unexpected pleasures, has long since deserted us, replacing innocence with cynicism and routine.
This gives the music of our youth its power. It also explains why so many people get stuck in nostalgia and why retrospective revival concerts are so damn popular.
People in their 50s and 60s have the financial wherewithal to pay for entertainment, and the hook is a glimpse of lost youth.
The Beatles played a vital role in the lives of young people over a pivotal decade, and every one of those songs marks a place of life experience and social context.
They astounded by their ability to keep ahead of the trends and instigate major changes. Starting out as rocking Liverpool lads, they later embraced Eastern mysticism, experimented with drugs and supported the fight for world peace.
They became icons of fusion, expression and romantic ideals.
Combining their special talents, they created a unique magic never experienced before and never witnessed since. To emulate or impersonate a Beatle, you have to be an extraordinary musician.
You almost have to channel the energy, intention and vision of those remarkable artists to re-create the overall experience of listening to them. For some nostalgia bunnies, it may be enough to hear the songs again and to see four young men in wigs running through the repertoire of classic songs.
In the early stages of the production Beatlemania, when the music and the lyrics were simple and catchy, the guys - Paul Green, Cameron Charters, Chris Frazer and Michael Brady - managed to pull it off.
But from the beginning of the second act I knew they were in trouble. The sound let them down and the bass was way too thumpy. A fuzzy booming distracted and annoyed. There was also a sense of having to speed things up, and by the time they reached the Beatles' high-water mark, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the plot was utterly lost.
The supplication and subtleties of the drug-drenched hippie music was too much. The repertoire deteriorated into a kind of frantic medley, and I left as the encore, Hey Jude, was being unforgivably mangled.
I am not prone to nostalgia and I am delighted to have left the pathetic immaturity of my youth behind me; most of my memories are an embarrassment to me. I adore the Beatles' music done by the Beatles.
Beatlemania failed to make my heart thump.
But I'm a boring old cynic with a critical ear, so don't take my word for it.
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