Be prepared. This show is loud, but then it is about rock ‘n’ roll. Backbeat: The Birth of the Beatles is the 2010 stage adaptation of a 1994 movie that details the legendary group’s early years between 1960 and 1963. Iain Softley, one of the movie’s writers, has penned the book of the musical with Stephen Jeffreys. This show will presumably move on to Broadway. How it will play there is anyone’s guess.
You might ask why the Beatles’ early years are interesting? For one thing, Stuart Sutcliffe (Nick Blood) played bass guitar. He was John Lennon’s (Andrew Knott) closest friend and much of the story revolves around their relationship and Sutcliffe’s early death from a brain haemorrhage in 1962. Also integral to the story is Sutcliffe’s affair with German photographer Astrid Kirchherr (Isabella Calthorpe) who became his fiancé and influenced him to put down his guitar and pick up a paintbrush once again. The Sutcliffe, Kirchherr, Lennon triangle is at the heart of the show. And then there is self-important drummer Pete Best (Oliver Bennett) who was unceremoniously fired from the group in 1962 and replaced by Ringo Starr (Adam Sopp). Best’s relationship with his fellows is an intriguing secondary theme. Paul McCartney (Daniel Healy) and George Harrison (Daniel Westwick) are basically musical window dressing.
The audience has to cope with Liverpool accents, and your ear does get used to the north of England words, except for Knott as Lennon who remains impenetrable throughout. That aside, those gruelling shows in various Hamburg clubs helped the Beatles form their sound, both as covers for the music of others, and writing their own songs. In 1960, they were nobodies. By 1963, Brian Epstein is their manager and George Martin is their record producer. In short, Beatlemania is sweeping the world.
The musicianship is fantastic. All the music is live, including the incidental score by Paul Stacey which is performed by members of the ensemble. People of a certain age are going to know ever word of every lyric. Even if you don’t know the songs like “Love Me Do” and “Please Love Me”, you have to be swept up by the sheer energy and brio of the Beatles’ clones. The encore, a never ending slew of Beatles’ hits, is an upbeat dance party. The audience literally twists and shouts at their seats. Everyone will leave the theatre infused by the vibrant music of those early years.
Music aside, there are problems. The set design by Andrew D. Edwards and Christopher Oram is awkward. There is a narrow upper steel gallery, and a lower box that holds the band that moves from rear stage to the front as necessary. The scaffold construction doesn’t leave enough room for anything else, so the acting bits are either squashed to the side or up above. Director David Leveaux repeats himself. At lower class Hamburg clubs, we have the noisy drunks and slutty girls. At upper class Hamburg clubs, we have the stylized Marlene Dietrich wannabes of either gender. There are projections on the back wall to help set the scene, but they are grainy and indistinct. The acting also seems muted, but then the characters are poorly developed. The show lacks passion.
On the other hand, the Beatles are all about the music and that is generously provided by Backbeat. Music trumps staging and substance. If you want depth, rent the movie.
Backbeat: The Birth of the Beatles, Mirvish Productions, written by Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys, incidental music by Paul Stacey, (starring Nick Blood, Isabella Calthorpe, Andrew Knott, Oliver Bennett, Daniel Healy and Daniel Westwick, directed by David Leveaux), Royal Alexandra Theatre, Jul. 21 to Sept. 2, 2012)