Beatles cover band plays show at Broadway Theatre
Mic Stankiewicz, bassist for 'The Liverpool Experience" plays his bass guitar during a show on Feb. 9 at the Broadway Theatre in downtown Mount Pleasant.
The Liverpool Experience performed a set of Beatles classics and some lesser-known tunes to help raise funding for the Broadway Theatre and to celebrate the 55th anniversary of The Beatles breakout performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
On Feb. 9, 1964 over 73 million Americans gathered in front of the TV to watch the Beatles first televised performance in America. Many magazines and newspapers wrote feature stories on the band and American radio stations were overrun with Beatles tunes in the weeks leading up to the show. Beatles cover projects performed all over the world on Saturday in celebration of the performance’s anniversary.
Front man of The Liverpool Experience, Ronnie Torres, said he saw the Ed Sullivan show performance premier when he was four years old and instantly fell in love with The Beatles’ musicality, aesthetic and innovation. Torres has been playing music professionally for almost 40 years.
The other core members of the group are guitarist Richard Fox and drummer Mark Minelli, who is a current CMU professor of health science. Guitarist and keyboard player Daniel O’Rourke and bass player Mic Stankiewicz also performed with the band but don’t consider themselves permanent members.
The members said while they prefer the black and white era of The Beatles (discography released before their 1966 album, “Revolver”) they enjoy all their material and perform songs from every iteration of the band.
Minelli said he favorites The Beatles eighth studio album, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” for its innovation when it comes to songwriting and recording techniques. The album was ranked the number one album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
“Their influence can be seen everywhere,” said Torres. “But as far doing what the Beatles did, it can never be done again”
The Liverpool Experience sets themselves apart from the countless Beatles look-alike projects by focusing on capturing the essence of the sound rather than looking like the band. They also pay close attention to the fascinating history of The Beatles by involving the audience with trivia questions and fun facts in between songs.
Audience members who answer a trivia questions correctly won a pair of drumsticks or a t-shirt.
The band opened by recreating the same set of songs The Beatles performed in the 1964 show with classics such as “All My Loving,” "I Saw Her Standing There" and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Later, audience members danced beside the stage as the group jammed to “Hard Day’s Night.”
“I’m glad I was able to recognize most of the songs,” said audience member, Dee Massey. “It reminds me how The Beatles can span multiple generations.”
The Broadway Theatre originally opened in 1919 as an opera house but was transformed with the creation of movies with sound. While the venue has gone through various changes since its opening it still upholds its historic legacy with the help of the Friends of Broadway.
The organization is dedicated to keeping the Broadway open and functioning, making restorations as needed and providing a place for the community to gather.
Despite the occasional hardships that come with a lack of funds or volunteers, current FOB trustee Phil Mikus enjoys preserving its history.
“One thing that has really kept me involved is the value of the theater to the community,” Mikus said. “Having the opportunity to perform on stage can change a person’s life.”
Mikus said FOB hope to begin new restoration projects soon including work on the marquee and enhancing the lighting within the theatre.
The Broadway Theatre has a few events forthcoming, including a free community showing of TOP Gun on March 30, a performance by The Power Divas on April 4, and will host the CMU Rampage Dance team on April 12.
Mikus urges anyone who wishes to rent out the theatre for a performance or get involved by volunteering and donating to FOB to contact them through Facebook or phone (989) 772-2075.
