'Classical Mystery Tour' simply was fab evening | GOOD MORNING COLUMN

By Julie Rosenbaum-Engelhardt

• Posted October 7, 2009 at 10:33 p.m. , updated October 7, 2009 at 10:33 p.m.

EVANSVILLE - When my husband and I went to see "Classical Mystery Tour" on Sunday, it was as if I were magically transformed to the 1960s.

But instead of the "Fab Four," it was the four members of "Beatlemania" performing with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra at The Victory.

One moment I was singing and clapping, and then I had tears streaming down my cheeks. The four men not only looked like doubles for John, Paul, George and Ringo, but they sounded so much like the four Beatles it was uncanny.

Songs such as "Yellow Submarine" were so much fun. However, when Jim Owen (John Lennon) sat at the piano with his white suit and long hair and started singing "Imagine," my heart just dropped. For a second, I almost believed that I was listening to the original.

What was just as surprisingly wonderful was the audience. Young people, older people, even people with canes were clapping and standing and acting as if they were attending a rock 'n' roll concert.

In the middle of The Victory, a venue that could have been in New York or Paris, with its beauty and palatial look, stood one of the most eclectic groups of people I have ever seen gathered together at one show.

Everybody was enthralled and so into the music. The philharmonic proved once again how versatile it really is. And you could see how much the musicians were enjoying the show. Even Conductor Alfred Savia was twisting to "Twist and Shout."

I was so proud to be a part of a community where people just "grooved" together, at least for one afternoon.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/oct/07/classical-mystery-tour-simply-was-fab-evening/