They look like the real thing. They sound like the real thing. So, are they the next-best thing to The Beatles?

Broadway and Beatles fans might agree that this full-fledged theatrical production featuring every stage of the band’s legendary career is worth two hours and twenty minutes of your engaged imagination.

The band has come a long way from their days in dives, performing on ladies night. During the seventies, they were known as Reign, travelling the California club circuit in search of a very special audience; one that would appreciate their attention to detail and their passion for performing every note as their idols would. But in a disco-fueled party scene where the echoes of Ed Sullivan weren’t yet the defining mark of a bygone era, it was a slow journey as they waited for fans to long for the days of Beatlemania.

Mark Lewis knows it best.

Founder, manager and original keyboardist of the now-heralded Rain, he’s been the force behind the creation of a new Beatles craze, one filled with baby boomers who hear the call of their generation in songs including “Yesterday” and “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds”. We talk with Lewis about how the show, and its audience, have grown up together.

The Gazette: So, you’ve basically taken a cover band and, through a combination of iconic music, talent and marketing, built it into a Broadway show. Was something like that a tough sell at first?

Mark Lewis: Yeah, it was kind of a hard sell. People didn’t understand the concept of a tribute band. In those days, it was the middle of the disco era and there were no other tribute bands at that time, so we’d be up there playing Beatles songs in Sgt. Pepper costumes and people would be out on the dance floor going, ‘Don’t you play anything we could dance to?’ They wanted Top 40 stuff. The Beatles had barely been gone long enough to come back, but when the marketing stuff was done right and the advertising stuff was done right, the Beatles fans would show up and the audience reaction was really phenomenal. There was an emotional connection when people heard this music performed correctly live. Even in those days, when it was sort of an experiment, I saw that there was something there. There was just this love of the music and no place to go to hear it done live.

Gazette: As career musicians performing another group’s music set after set, how do you guys stay creatively satisfied?

Lewis: You start with guys who love the music. I don’t think it’s a matter of staying satisfied, I mean, that would be like going to a classical musician and asking if you ever get sick of playing this Beethoven stuff. I mean, to us, this is classical music. It’s music we love playing and what we strive to be great at is performing it, playing it, doing it note for note and bringing that experience to people. We don’t really burn out on it because the music is so great. The audience comes to life and once you get up there and that curtain opens and people are enthralled by the show, it gives you energy.

The Gazette: With at least two decades of well-known hits to choose from, how do you narrow down what to play for fans? Do you change it up a lot?

Lewis: We used to, in the old days, when we were playing in clubs and stuff, we would change the songs, but nowadays, this is a Broadway show. There are lighting cues and props that come in and out and costume changes and video and a lot of stuff that is blocked out to fit the show so you can’t just go, “What song do you feel like doing now?” But we try to pick out those songs that are huge, iconic, standard songs, and also ones that weren’t played on the radio all the time, songs from, like, “Rubber Soul” to “Girl” or “In My Life”, songs that might be new to some people. We cover all aspects of their career, from their early days on the Ed Sullivan Show through “Abbey Road Side Two” and everything in between. You have songs like “Yesterday” and you have songs like “Revolution” and “Come Together” that are totally different types of songs and then psychedelic stuff like “Strawberry Fields” and, you know, “A Day in the Life,” there’s all kind of different songs.

The Gazette: Do you have a favorite Beatles era?

Lewis: No, no I don’t. I like it all because we’ve done it all.

In my case, you have to understand, I’m managing now. I used to play on stage until a couple of years ago. When you’ve played it as long as I’ve played it, there are times where you love this era, you love these songs, and then times when you’ve played some for so long, you need to change it out and find something fresh. Then you get excited about doing it again. It’s like you go through phases about which is your favorite.

But when it really comes down to it, I like it all. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t.

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