BACKBEAT

 

Whenever someone tells me a story, about anything, I always implore them to start at the beginning. For me, origins are the most important clue to figuring anything out.

So, to see a new musical about how The Beatles got their start is a wonderful revelation for me. Or should have been. This is one of the few times that my policy of never wanting to know about a show or film going in ruined the experience for me. That’s because the show, Backbeat, is really about the guy who’s often referred to as the “fifth Beatle,” Stuart Sutcliffe. (It should have really been titled, Backbeat: The Stuart Sutcliffe Story.) And, being that I’ve heard of him maybe one or two times in my life, I wasn’t expecting that. At all. I was looking forward to what I thought would be Jersey Boys: Beatles Edition, or Mersey Boys. (Because, if I remember my English boy bands lore correctly, the River Mersey is in Liverpool—get it? I thought that title was clever of me.) And what I got was far from that; so perhaps it’s my own expectations that did me in, not the show itself, although I do have lots of quarrels in that department. (Maybe, like Jersey Boys, they just needed a colorful character like Joe Pesci, rather than reserved Brian Epstein!)

Always one to be fair, I have to give you the yin-and-yang of the the rest of the audience reactions: the assemblage-at-large went wild at the end, giving them a hearty standing ovation. But my guest, Lauren, who’s a major rock fan from way back and whose son is an excellent up-and-coming guitarist himself, downright hated it. I’m in the middle, though leaning more to her opinion. But, as the hours have passed since the show ended, and I’ve had time to reflect, it’s grown on me a bit.

First, the positives. It was definitely interesting. It’s a story that’s rarely been told before, except in the 1994 film of the same name that this musical was based on, (which I had never heard of until I did research for this review, post-show.) If I had known going in what the storyline was, I think I would have gotten more into it. I just kept waiting for Ringo to show up, which he did near the very end.

So, I would have enjoyed learning about this part of Beatles history. Especially because a young German artist, whom they call simply “Klaus,” features so prominently in it. After doing my research when I returned home, I discovered that it was indeed Klaus Voorman, (they should have said his last name in the show…or I should have read my program more carefully,) whom I used to know! We were in a small group of show biz folk who used to hang-out when I was very young, (although, I’m assuming that by now, he would have forgotten me,) and all I knew was that he was a guitarist and artist who did the cover of the Beatles album, Revolver. I would have loved to see him portrayed on stage, had I known! (And in person, if he was also at the opening, though I may not have recognized him now, if he wasn’t still rocking his tons of gray hair.) I just wish he hadn’t been portrayed as sort-of a loser because, even though I obviously knew him much later in his life, I can’t imagine him ever having been like that.

Also, just like with the real Beatles, where Paul McCartney was my favorite, the guy who played him, Daniel Healy, was my fave in the show. He had Paul’s little head-shake and leg pulses down cold.

And I’m glad that the one who was half-naked a couple of times, Nick Blood, (who played Stuart,) was built like Stephen Amell of Arrow; not an ounce of fat on him anywhere! What a body! I was sitting way back and could still see those ripples!

And the audience went wild for the post-curtain-call mini-concert. Everyone was up and moving. (Which was a tad strange for me because during the show itself, I was one of the only two people grooving!) But I still can’t figure out for the life of me why they chose the song list they did. Johnny Be Good? Are you kidding me?

And, when they finally became the Beatles we all know, at the end, the actors, (except for Ringo,) got their movements right. That was fun to see.

This show taught me Beatles lore that I had no idea about, and I’m always grateful for new knowledge in any category; I appreciate the impetus to look up a topic I had never even thought about before. Hey, I’m still grieving for Pete Best, who was unceremoniously dropped in favor of Ringo Starr, after spending the first two hard years as the drummer. [Note: Even though they didn’t explain it in the show, in life, no one knows the real reason, but it’s believed because the other three were jealous that Pete was the best-looking and most popular one, which might be true because they replaced him with a drummer who’s not exactly a looker—sorry Ringo.] There was no room in my head to worry about Stuart Sutcliffe, a guy I had just marginally heard about!

At about forty minutes in, they showed some old photos that made the whole thing worth it to me. They reminded me of one that I have on my wall from the early days of the Beatles, taken, and given to me, by Michael McCartney, Paul’s brother, when he was a guest on my show.

A sidebar positive of the evening is that I saw a couple of my old buds before the show started: Academy Award-winning composer, Richard Sherman, (of Mary Poppins fame,) and uber-famous novelist Jackie Collins. She proudly told me that her daughter, Rory Lerman, (an old fan of my show, which is how I met her mom to begin with,) just published a book. I’ll be sure to check it out.

And now for the negatives. To begin with, the music was ear-splittingly loud! It was worse than my hip-hop clubs! And definitely a worse sound than any rock and roll concert I’ve ever been to, even up close and personal. Lauren, who always stands right up by the stage at the very many concerts she attends, held her ears every time it came on. It was a horrible, tinny sound, but I think that’s what they were going for, to emulate the conditions in the ’60s. Of course, I, being the Empath that I am, just worried about all the elderly theatre-goers who might have a problem with the decibel level.

Also, in an attempt to emulate the Beatles Liverpudlian accents, the actors were not understandable about a quarter of the time. It didn’t matter that much to me, (because I kept spacing-out, waiting for the story I thought I was going to see to begin,) but everyone around me kept asking their seat-mates, “What did he say?” Very annoying, all the way around.

I kept waiting for the Ringo character to appear, and when he finally did, Adam Sopp played him like a Jim Carrey character! So, this one is actually a positive because his time on-stage was thankfully brief. I couldn’t have taken much more of his bad portrayal.

This one is a small annoyance, but Paul is famous for playing guitar left-handed, so to see the actor playing a normal guitar was a tad annoying to me. I give them a pass on this one, though, because I imagine it might be hard to find an actor to fill the bill who’s also a left-handed guitarist.

The second worst thing about the show, for me, was the almost-constant use of herbal cigarettes. It started at curtain, and as we sat there covering our mouths, (me because I have asthma and am adversely affected by smoke, Lauren just because she thought it was gross,) we hoped it would pass quickly. But, there were few moments when no one was smoking. I know they were going for the feel of the time, but it shouldn’t be to the detriment of the audience. I was grateful that we were at least sitting further back than ever before this time.

But, the worst part, to me, was the creepy figures of the ensemble lurking around the stage. I know they were supposed to be the patrons of the clubs the group was playing in, but they were just distracting, and sort-of scary. I kept checking my program to see if I had mistakenly walked into a production of Cabaret! I know it was a style choice by the writer or director or both, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. And, combined with the sort-of black-and-white look they seemed to going for with the lighting design and minimal set, it all just kind-of creeped me out. I was dying for some color. (And this coming from a fan of old black-and-white films!)

I kept thinking that this show should be promo-ed like this: “Before there was Cynthia, before there was Maureen, before there was Jane, before there was Patty, before there was Yoko, before there was Linda, (you get the drift,) there was…Astrid!” What? Astrid? (She was Stuart’s girlfriend, who they portrayed as romantic rival of John Lennon’s. That might have been true, but this show just alluded slightly to John’s supposed crush on Stuart, so I didn’t know what they were really trying to tell us. That aspect of the script was just confusing.) If I had known that Astrid was going to be the only “bird” in the show, again, I would have paid more attention to her. I just kept waiting for the other gal pals to show up.

I know this show has been floating around the world for awhile prior to this American premiere at the Ahmanson, but, in my opinion, it needs tons of tweaking before it gets to Broadway. The whole show is like a microcosm of the pre-Ringo Beatles themselves; not entertaining enough for mass audiences.

But, if you’re interested in the story of the early Beatles, and can tolerate loud noise and smoke, then I suggest you go see it, now that you know the premise. Just bring earplugs and a surgical mask!

Backbeat running through March 1, 2013
Ahmanson Theatre 135 N. Grand Ave. 213-972-4400 www.CenterTheatreGroup.org