Beatles are sweeping the globe once again

Thursday, May 18, 2006 | 7:32 a.m.

When: 9 p.m. May 28

Where: Las Vegas Hilton Theater

Tickets: $55 and $70

Information: 732-5755

Las Vegas has a Beatles infestation.

"Love," Cirque du Soleil's tribute to the music of the Fab Four, debuts June 2 at the Mirage.

"Fab Four Mania," the tribute show produced by David Saxe, has been entertaining fans at the Aladdin for more than two years.

And on May 28 the "Classical Mystery Tour," featuring a pseudo-Beatles concert - complete with 42-piece orchestra - will be at the Las Vegas Hilton for a one-night performance.

"Interest in the Beatles is increasing all over the world," Jim Owen, who plays the role of John Lennon in "Classical Mystery Tour," said in a telephone interview from his home in Huntington Beach, Calif. "Fans' kids are now coming to the shows."

The 39-year-old Owen started "Classical Mystery Tour" 10 years ago and has been touring the world with the concert ever since.

The title is a takeoff on the Beatles' 1967 made-for-TV movie "Magical Mystery Tour" and the band's album of the same title.

Owen said the title was chosen to avoid any possible legal conflicts.

"We were looking for a title that would convey what we do, yet our lawyers advised us not to use anything that said 'Beatles' in the title," he said.

The word "Magical" was replaced with "Classical" to convey the message that the production uses a symphony orchestra.

"The addition of an orchestra has made a big difference," Owen said. "It has brought the show to another level."

Each town's production features a different orchestra - sometimes a local philharmonic, sometimes just a group of musicians brought together.

"One of the hardest things to get across is that this is not a symphony," Owen said. "It's just imagining what it would be like with the Beatles in concert."

In 2000 "Classical Mystery Tour" performed at Mandalay Bay, backed by the Las Vegas Philharmonic. In 2003, at the Aladdin, the Glen Willow Symphony orchestra provided the backup music.

This time, the four featured performers will be backed by an orchestra assembled for them.

The cast includes Owen on rhythm guitar, piano and vocals; Tony Kishman (Paul McCartney) on bass guitar, piano and vocals; Tom Teeley (George Harrison) on lead guitar and vocals, and Chris Camilleri (Ringo Starr) on drums and vocals. Martin Herman will conduct the 42-piece symphony orchestra.

Owen has been performing professionally as a Beatles impersonator since the age of 16. At 18, he began touring the world in productions of "Beatlemania," a former Broadway production.

Camilleri was a founding member of the Beatles tribute band Liverpool and has been performing at Beatlefest (an annual event at Meadowlands, N.J.) since 1979.

Teeley starred as George Harrison in both the Broadway production of "Beatlemania" and the film version.

Kishman, starting in 1979, played bass and guitar for six years as Paul McCartney in both the national and international tours of "Beatlemania."

The Beatles, Owen says, are timeless. "I liken it to classical music - there's no new Beethoven or Chopin, but it's still great music," he said.