Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles
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RAIN – A Tribute to The Beatles is a Beatles tribute show that began as an offshoot of the Broadway production of Beatlemania. "RAIN" is currently performing on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre through January 15, 2011 when it will move to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.[1]
History
The show RAIN began as a club band in the 70s called "Reign" which performed a set of Beatles songs regularly in their shows in the club circuit of California and the west coast of the United States. This early incarnation bears little to no resemblance to the show RAIN (with the exception of keyboardist Mark Lewis). Soon, Reign changed its name to the more familiar 'Rain.' During the band's early years, Rain's line-up originally included Orange County natives Eddie Lineberry (as Lennon); Chuck Coffey (McCartney); and William (Bill) Connearny (Harrison),and Grant Belotti who were recruited by Dick Clark for his 1979 film, "Birth of The Beatles." Clark's objective was for the band to be as authentic to the Beatles as possible. During this time, the band briefly tried to market an acetate of original songs. In Circa 1980-82, the band headlined at Disneyland's Tomorrowland Terrace. At this point in time, Rain was simply a band that performed the music of The Beatles and had no connection to the Broadway production of Beatlemania. But by 1982, as the first run of the Broadway production of Beatlemania came to its close, cast members from the show began to join and eventually RAIN (which was now officially an offshoot of the Broadway production of Beatlemania) consisted of Joey Curatolo (Paul), Ralph Castelli (Starr), Mark Lewis (Stage Instrumentalist), Joe Bithorn (Harrison), and Randy Clarke (Lennon). Soon after Randy Clarke's departure, David Leon was tapped to play the role of John. Less than a year later, David Leon's departure from the show made way for Jim Riddle (Lennon) who would take on the role in RAIN until his passing in 1997 when his position was filled with fellow Beatlemania roommate Steve Landes. In 2009, Rain began to expand and cast members Joe Bologna, and Graham Alexander joined the show followed by Tom Teeley and David Leon later that year. As the show grew, various cast members joined the show (Mac Ruffing, Doug Cox, Mark Beyer, Chris Smallwood, Jim Irizarry, and Jimmy Pou)
Musical Numbers
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Cast
CurrentlyRAIN tours the country as a full theatrical production and is the highest grossing act of its kind (dwarfing even the first production of Beatlemania's ticket sales). In 2007, RAIN premiered its first PBS television special which airs in promotion of its tour nationwide. After returning from an extremely lucrative tour of Europe, Rain started the first leg of its new North American tour. Rain's casts members currently consist of Joey Curatolo, Graham Alexander, Robert "Mac" Ruffing, Ralph Castelli,[2] Joe Bologna, Doug Cox, Joe Bithorn, Tom Teeley, Jimmy Pou, Steve Landes, David Leon, Jim Irizarry, Tim Piper, Mark Lewis, Mark Beyer, and Chris Smallwood. Cast members are typically mixed and matched depending on the show. In 2008, Pollstar listed RAIN at number 17 in its yearly "Pollstar's Hot top 20" for overall tickets sales of a touring show, band, or production. RAIN opened on Broadway October 19, 2010 for a limited 12-week run (through January 15, 2011) at the Neil Simon Theatre. The Broadway production will move to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8, 2011.[3] ControversiesIn 2007, RAIN, filed a lawsuit against Rain, a South Korean singer and actor. Rain was scheduled to hold concerts in Honolulu on June 15, Atlanta on June 19, New York City on June 23, San Francisco on June 27, and Los Angeles on June 30. This was part of his 2006-2007 world tour. However, Rain Corporation filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Rain, his former management agency JYP Entertainment, and Star M Entertainment (concert organizer) over the use of the name 'Rain'. The case was filed at the Nevada District Court on February 16.[4] Rain Corporation claims they have a trademark on the name Rain. The lawsuit states trademark infringement and asks for an injunction and seeks damages plus three times the profits attributable to the defendant's infringement of the trademark. Representatives for Rain Corporation were contacted by Pollstar but declined to comment on anything regarding the lawsuit.[5] Sources
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