Fab Four evokes high times of the Beatles in show at V Theater

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 8:30 a.m.

Even marred by an occasional cracked voice that missed some of the high notes, "Fab Four Mania" at the Aladdin's V Theater is still a pretty fab show.

It has been more than 30 years since the Beatles broke up. Peace-loving John Lennon is gone, the victim of a crazed assassin. George Harrison succumbed to cancer.

Only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are left to entertain the fans and there are still legions of them.

Many of them as many as could get into the 300-seat room packed the V Theater earlier this week to be carried on a nostalgic journey by a tribute show that has been amazing audiences for seven years.

The Fab Four, a quartet of performers, pay amazingly close attention to every detail of their performance from the costumes to the music to the accents.

None of the music is on tape the instruments and voices are real.

Most of the fans immediately got into the production, singing along when asked to do so, waving their arms when asked, standing and swaying on cue.

The show is divided into three periods of the Beatles' career: The first is 1963 to 1966, when they first appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and exploded onto the American music scene.

The second period, the psychedelic phase, covers 1966-'67.

The third period includes songs from '67 to '70.

"Love Me Do" is the first song of the evening, followed by a flurry of hits that include "Hard Day's Night," "Eight Days a Week," "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout," among others.

There was a break in the music to watch a film clip from 1965 in which a fan, chosen from a large crowd of fans, is interviewed. The interview captures the devotion of the Beatles' followers during those early years.

A second film clip, later in the show, includes a camera crew going around London and capturing people of all ages singing Beatles songs, showing how pervasive their music was.

The group changed into Sgt. Pepper psychedelic costumes for the second phase of the show and sang such hits as "Penny Lane" and "A Little Help From My Friends."

One of the highlights of the show came during the third act when Ron McNeil, as John Lennon, talked to the audience about the slain musician while dressed in a white outfit.

"It seems we kill off heroes," he said. "I would like to dedicate this song to anyone out there who still believes in peace, love and freedom."

The song was "Imagine," one of the best-performed songs of the evening.

The show closed with "Hey Jude," which received a standing ovation.

The Fab Four, while not flawless, provide a fun evening for anyone who was around when the Beatles were the hottest group in the world.

Even those who weren't born when the real Fab Four were changing the face of music should find a lot of enjoyment in this low-key production.