Article by Peter Roos
In 1964, Ed Sullivan featured ‘The Beatles’ on his “Really Big Show” in New York City.These early concert days are what created the ‘MANIA’ around the group. It was the U.S. debut of The Beatles, introduced as “Great Britain’s cultural gift to America,who went on to become one of the biggest and most influential music groups in history.
Presenting songs released prior to the Sgt. Pepper era, “1964” The Tribute remarkably recreates an early ‘60s live Beatles concert, with period instruments, clothing, hairstyles, and onstage banter. Performing the hits are Mark Benson as John Lennon, Mac Ruffing as Paul McCartney, Tom Work as George Harrison and Bobby Potter as Ringo Starr.
The incredible cast takes fans back to an iconic era performing rock classics such as “She Loves You,” “Eight Days a Week,” “All My Loving,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “From Me To You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and many more. We drove over Vail Pass to see this show in Colorado one summer a couple years back and left the packed auditorium feeling like we had just seen the Beatles reincarnated. The band looked, sounded and acted so much like the originals who’d aged a few years that we felt transported back. We decided we would be sure to let local fans know if the show visited St. Pete or Tampa.
The group performs at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater on Friday, April 3 at 8pm.
Tickets, $43.50-$53.50 are online at themahaffey.com, at (727) 300-2000, or at the Mahaffey Theater Box office 11am-5pm Monday-Saturday and at least 90 minutes prior to any ticketed event. Treat yourself to a trip down memory lane.