Revue salutes music of the Beatles, Queen, ABBA

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Photo courtesy Rock Legends 'Rock Legends' Featuring the music of the Beatles, ABBA and Queen 8 p.m. April 23 and 24, 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 25 Blaisdell Concert Hall $34-$65 (877) 750-4400 or www.ticketmaster.com Also: Group discounts (20 or more), call 732-7733; opening-night dinner package, $120, includes dinner at Compadres, prime seating, tax, tip, trolley ride to the show and post-performance party with the cast

"One can assume that baby boomers are obviously a large part of the audience — those 40-plus folks — and perhaps a third are in their 20s," said Stewart Macpherson, a New Zealand entrepreneur, about his latest endeavor.

He saw "Rock Legends," a tribute revue that capsulizes the music, the ardor and the star quality of the Beatles, ABBA and Queen (specifically, Freddie Mercury), in Capetown in Africa, and figured his fellow Kiwis in New Zealand would applaud the show. He's also booked it Down Under in 19 shows, and is expanding his promotional ties once again to Hawai'i, having staged shows here such as "Cats" and the "other" "Phantom of the Opera."

"Face it, with the Beatles and ABBA, you have a melodic show," said Macpherson, who was visiting recently. "Just about everything's hummable and singable music, not really anything like the contemporary rap music.

"And when I eyeballed the audience, I'd say a good number are younger kids, who know the music through their parents or from exposure on television and in films. Thus, there's something for multigenerations."

Indeed, tunes such as Queen's "We Will Rock You," "Another One Bites the Dust," "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" may have '70s and '80s roots. But these anthems, like much of the Beatles' catalog, have surfaced in commercials, in hit TV shows, in movie soundtracks.

Undeniably, the Beatles songbook also has endured the test of time.

And ABBA — thanks to the enormous success of the London and Broadway musical "Mamma Mia," now in production all over the world — is hot all over again.

"Rock Legends" features actors-singers impersonating and concertizing like the originals.

Macpherson said the first half embraces ABBA's hits, including the likes of "Take a Chance on Me," "The Winner Takes It All," "Chiquitita," "Fernando," "SOS," "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Dancing Queen," plus a command performance of Queen's signatures.

The second act is all Beatles.

"Having spoken to the guy who put it all together (David King of London, whose "Spirit of the Dance" production played in

Honolulu), the concept of 'Rock Legends' was to put together a dynamic concert, driven by pop music, with an obvious English background," said Macpherson (OK, ABBA is of Swedish origin, but has been a chart buster in Britain).

Macpherson, who also has rights to the first new revival of the Andrew Lloyd-Webber/Tim Rice rock opera "Evita," is in the midst of casting and ultimately presenting the popular stage attraction in New Zealand.

Because his licensing only covers the New Zealand market, he has no plans to bring that show to Hawai'i.

He will employ about 20 Honolulu Symphony musicians, however, to help sweeten the sounds of the "Rock Legends" production.