BWW Reviews: LET IT BE, Garrick Theatre, March 11 2015

"Nobody ever left a theatre singing the scenery" is as sound a defence of jukebox musicals as I've heard, so why not pare one back to the songs alone - that's why we're there, after all. Let It Be (continuing at the Garrick Theatre) does just that. Hit after hit after hit - just like that gatefold sleeve double album that was always a best seller in the Littlewoods catalogue. They're not quite all there - no "Here, There and Everywhere" nor "Something" - but there's plenty to sate the most fervid Beatles fan from pop to psychedelic to rock and plenty of points in between.

The details matter in shows like this. The voices have to be close to the originals, the clothes and mannerisms just right and it's okay to let a bit of personality leak through too. So we get a left-handed cheerful Paul McCartney, John Lennon's growling wit, George Harrison's quiet mysticism and Ringo Starr's blokey enthusiasm. The rolling company of performers (four of that Excellent Eleven play the Fab Four each night) never convince us that it is actually them - but the illusion (and maybe a drink or two from the bar that's open through the show) is enough for us to relax back and enjoy the event.

I've seen two Beatles shows before: Cirque du Soleil's Love at The Mirage, Las Vegas had far too much going on for my liking (unicyclists coming down from the sky weren't a common sight in the Penny Lane I knew) and a tribute band in a lounge room was pleasant, but lacked a bit of the Beatlemania excitement that is so central to the band's rise to unprecedented fame.

So don't go to this show if you want a sophisticated analysis of The Beatles 'cultural impact: do go if you want a spectacular set of some of the greatest songs of the 20th century sung with gusto to an audience almost as enthusiastic as that at the Shea Stadium 50, yes, 50, years ago.

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