Let It Be
A Celebration of the Music of The Beatles
Let It Be is a West End and Broadway jukebox musical, based on the career of English rock band, The Beatles, from 1962 to their breakup in 1969. The musical debuted at the Prince of Wales Theatre on 24 September 2012. Its run at the venue ended on 19 January 2013, after which it moved to the Savoy Theatre and opened on 1 February 2013. The Broadway production started previews on 13 July, 2013 with its official opening night taking place on 24 July 2013 running for a limited engagement at the St. James Theatre until 1 September 2013.[1]
Run
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Dates
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Type & Version
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Theatre
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| Sep 24, 2012 – Jan 19, 2013 | Musical/Concert | Prince of Wales Theatre, London, UK |
| Feb 01, 2013 – Feb 08, 2014 | Musical/Concert | Savoy Theatre, London UK |
| Jul 13, 2013 – Sep 01,2013 | Musical/Concert | St James Theatre, New York NY |
Synopsis West End Production
The show begins with the four actors portraying The Beatles’ appearance at the Cavern Club in 1962, followed by a set change progressing the cast to the 1963 Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre. The Beatles journey to America beginning their tour at the The Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles directions are changing musically leading to New York City’s Shea Stadium.[2] Subsequent scenes use hallucinogenic[3] and psychedelic designs to further progress the representation of The Beatle’s ever increasing experimentation with substances and eastern theory.[4] The show culminates with the breakup of the group and the end of the 1960s
Synopsis Broadway Production
The show begins with the four actors portraying an early version of The Beatles’ appearance at the Cavern Club in 1962. When this scene closes [The Beatles] journey to America beginning their tour at The Ed Sullivan Show. Moving forward, The Beatles’ directions are changing musically while their band grows in popularity performing their largest concert at New York City’s Shea Stadium.[2] Subsequent scenes use hallucinogenic[3] and psychedelic designs to further progress the representation of The Beatles’ ever increasing experimentation with substances and eastern theory.[4] The show culminates with the breakup of the group and the end of the 1960s.
Cast
The Broadway and West End companies each feature two casts, who alternate performances.[4] The two casts on consist of:
- James Fox, Reuven Gershon, John Brosnan, Ryan Alex Farmery, Luke Roberts, Ryan Coath, Graham Alexander, JT Curtis, Chris McBurney, Tyson Kelly, John Korba, Dan Weiss, [5]
Set List
Act I: “I Saw Her Standing There” “Please Please Me” “It Won’t Be Long” “She Loves You” “I Want To Hold Your Hand” “All My Loving” “A Hard Day’s Night” “Can’t Buy Me Love” “Do You Want To Know A Secret” “I Wanna Be Your Man” “Yesterday” “Help!” “I Feel Fine” “Ticket to Ride” “Drive My Car” “Twist And Shout” “Day Tripper” “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” “With A Little Help From My Friends” “Eleanor Rigby” “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds” “When I’m Sixty Four” “Sergeant Pepper Reprise/A Day In the Life”
Act II: “Magical Mystery Tour” “All You Need Is Love” “Strawberry Fields Forever” “Blackbird” “We Can Work It Out” “Girl” “Here Comes The Sun” “In My Life” “The Long And Winding Road” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” “Come Together” “Get Back” “Revolution” “The End” “Give Peace A Chance” “Let It Be” “Hey Jude”
Reception
The musical received mixed to positive reviews from both West End and Broadway critics.
- ^ “Twist and Shout” only
References
- Beatles Concert Show ‘Let It Be’ Coming to Broadway – The New York Times.com
- Brown, Peter. “Review of Let It Be at the Prince of Wales Theatre”. London Theatre. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- Billington, Michael (24 September 2012). “Let It Be – review”. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- Lukowski, Andrzej (25 September 2012). “Let It Be”. Time Out. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/Cast/14014/Let-It-Be-at-St-James-Theatre
External Links
- Official website
- Let It Be (musical) on Twitter
