Showtime: Beatlemania Now! will take stage at the Sellersville Theater on Saturday, Dec. 27.
They came; they saw; they conquered.
Such is the legacy of the Beatles, who took the country by storm in 1964 and continue to dominate the world with their music.
A show called Beatlemania was hailed as one of the most ambitious theatrical productions in Broadway history. And when the show began winding down, Scot Arch, who plays John Lennon, got involved in the 1980s and developed his own version of the show called Beatlemania Now!
Running at the Sellersville Theater 1894 on Saturday, Dec. 27, the show features Arch and three other lookalikes as Paul, George and Ringo in a stellar production highlighting many of the Fab Four’s songs, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love and Let It Be.
“It’s hard to think of the 1960s without thinking of the Beatles,” said Arch, who has performed the part of Lennon since the show began touring in 1983. “Let’s face it, much of that decade was shaped a lot by the music the Beatles were playing and the messages they were sending. And their music really does get handed down from generation to generation, which is obvious by the audiences we see during our concerts — from grandparents down to toddlers.”
Arch, who lives in Broomall and actually saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show when they first arrived in America, was just a little boy then but said that seeing them is what influenced him enough to make him want to play the guitar.
“When I watched that show, something happened to me,” Arch explained. “If I couldn’t be a Beatle, maybe I could sound and play like one.”
Although the other three “Beatles” were born long after the real Beatles disbanded in 1970, they nonetheless are able to capture the sights and sounds of the famous band members they are portraying, thanks to their musicianship, as well as the video footage and graphics created for the show.
Asked to name his favorite Beatles song, Arch names his all-time favorite as I Want To Hold Your Hand. And while he’s been told that he looks and sounds so much like Lennon, it’s almost as if the late Beatle had returned from the grave, he did admit that his favorite Beatle is actually Paul.
“But I don’t look like Paul and I don’t sound like Paul, so here I am doing what I do best — portraying John.”
Arch, who said he owns the name Beatlemania Now, points out that he never thought the production would last this long.
“But how could it not? The Beatles’ music is so great and they had so many great hits that this show could continue to run for a long, long time.” ••
The show starts at 3 p.m. Tickets cost $29.50 and $40. For more information, call 215–257–5808 or visit st94.com
