Rain forecasts a magical
tour for Beatles fans

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Rain may be the title of a 1966 single, considered by some to be the best record B-side that the Fab Four ever recorded. (Paperback Writer, for you trivia fans, was the A-side.)
It’s also the name of a multimedia stage production that pays tribute to the Beatles and their music and is about to return to the Academy of Music for the third year in a row.
Fans who’ll head out to see RAIN - The Beatles Experience and expect to see a Beatles tribute band are in for so much more, says Lansdale native Steve Landes, who has portrayed John Lennon in the production for 10 years.
"Just from the level of the music — we do everything as authentically as possible. Close your eyes and hear the Beatles. Open your eyes and we’re dressed — we look like the Beatles. It’s a Beatles concert come to life," Landes said of the show, which opens its Academy of Music engagement on Tuesday, Jan. 15, and concludes on Jan. 20.
The music is complemented by a visual production that recalls key events during those tumultuous times — multimedia screens behind the band flash ’60s images of President John F. Kennedy, Vietnam, backdrops of Ed Sullivan and Sgt. Pepper, a sensory montage of historical moments on a whole new level, explained the 30-something Landes.
"It puts the whole sixties in perspective. For people who were around in the sixties, you see all the stuff come back to you," he said.
"People like us, it’s good to see what was going on during the Beatles. They are outside of their time. Their music isn’t just about the sixties," he said.
The show’s appeal spans a broad range of ages as well.
"The Beatles are like cool — still cool. Elvis, as great as he is, doesn’t really speak to thirteen- or fourteen-year-old kids until they grow up," Landes said. "The Beatles are for some reason cool — eleven-, twelve- and thirteen-year-olds know every word. They’re screaming ‘Hey John,’ ‘Hey Paul.’ For them, it really is the Beatles."
Though this is the show’s third visit to Philadelphia in as many years, repeat viewers won’t see the same two-hour show. While the song list features such perennial favorites as Hey Jude and Yesterday, Rain makes good use of the Beatles’ expansive catalog of tunes.
"Sometimes we do Let It Be or The Long and Winding Road, and sometimes we do She Loves You or I Want to Hold Your Hand. That’s the great thing about the Beatles — so many great songs that we can come back with a nearly completely different show," Landes said.
Rain also features Joey Curatolo as Paul, Joe Bithorn as George and Ralph Castelli as Ringo. A fifth Rain/Beatle, Mark Lewis, is offstage on keyboards.
"You really have to be a top musician. That shows in what we do," Landes said.
Away from this Beatles time machine, the Rain members pursue their own musical directions.
"I write my own music . . . hope to get a record deal," said Landes, who markets his tunes on MySpace. "It’s hard right now. We’re touring so much."
After 10 years of portraying Lennon, Landes’ voice is still full of enthusiasm and wild admiration for the achievements of Lennon and his cohorts.
"If you’ve got to play somebody else’s music, who better than the Beatles?" Landes said recently by phone from his Sonoma Valley home in California’s wine country.
He likens his job of donning a mop-top and playing John to those days as a child when he’d grab a towel from the bathroom, tie it around his neck and pretend to be a superhero. Back in the day, he thought of the Beatles more as a group than a group of individuals.
"When I was a kid, the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. (I thought of the Beatles) as one ensemble. It wasn’t until I grew up and really understood the words that John became my favorite — not only as a Beatle but what he stood for — for peace, for your fellow man and loving each other," he said.
For Landes, the Beatles’ message is just as important as their music.
"At the end of the day," he said, "the Beatles are all about peace and love." ••
For ticket information, call 215-731-3333 or visit www.kimmelcenter.org To get a listen, check out www.rainthebeatlesexperience.com To check out Landes’ music, visit www.myspace.com/stevelandes
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com