WORTHINGTON -- Forty-five years ago next week, the "I Feel Fine/She's a Woman" 45 record by the Beatles was released by Capitol Records and would go on to hold the No. 1 spot on the charts for four weeks. Earlier in 1964, the Beatles were watched by more than 70 million people during each of three consecutive appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
The excitement of that era and the Beatles invasion will be re-created Saturday night when "Revolution: A Tribute to the Beatles" comes to the Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Stage in Worthington.
Like the original band, "Revolution" features four musicians -- assuming the looks, musical stylings and personalities of Paul, John, George and Ringo -- performing the Beatles' greatest hits. They begin with the signature dark suits and mop-head hairstyles, segue into the brightly-colored military uniforms of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and finally don the longer tresses and hippie looks that defined them in their later years together.
During the course of the evening, The "Revolution" musicians will take the audience traveling through time musically, recalling those historic appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," performing for the Queen of England and scenes from the group's movies, "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" There will also be tracks from landmark albums such as "Rubber Soul," "Revolver" and "Abbey Road."
"Revolution" is the second event in Memorial Auditorium's Great Entertainer Series, which began last month with "Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes," a tribute to Hank Williams. The final part of the series will feature "The World's Best Young Elvis," Travis Ledoyt.
ADVERTISEMENT
Memorial Auditorium Manager Margaret Hurlbut Vosburgh hopes that such offerings will draw new people to check out what's being offered at the performing arts facility.
"We're trying to look at engaging a broader audience -- different age groups, different likes and dislikes," she explained. "People have requested more variety in our shows, although I don't know how much more variety you can get than the Vienna Boys Choir and Hank Williams."
Bringing in "bigger shows" that appeal to a wider range of people is more of a financial gamble, Vosburgh noted.
"Because the Friends of the Auditorium want to keep the ticket prices at a cost that the general public can afford them," she explained, "sometimes we don't even break even. But they're willing to stick their necks out on these contracts to bring this to people, so people need to get in here and support the building."
Like the Beatles themselves, "Revolution" has generated a buzz of excitement around Memorial Auditorium. Vosburgh has talked to a number of ticket buyers who could boast about seeing the Beatles live many years ago and are hoping to re-live that thrill. But she also hopes that teens who have come to know the Beatles music through new mediums such as Guitar Hero take advantage of the reduced student ticket price.
"We'd like to try to get some kids in the building," she said. "There are a lot of kids who are into the arts and are here to participate in the plays, the band and choral concerts, but I think they forget they can be in the audience, too. We hope they come and see something like this and jumpstart the interest."
"Revolution" was booked through Producers Inc., a Florida agency that has also brought acts such as the Glenn Miller Band and Guy Lombardo Orchestra to the Memorial Auditorium stage.
"There are several other Minnesota presenters who have had this group before and have nothing but great things to say about them, and they've been very easy to work with to this point," she said, adding, "We still have excellent seats available."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Memorial Auditorium Performing Arts Center box office will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, phone 376-9101.
