West End hears 'Backbeat'

The Beatles are returning to London, this time in "Backbeat," a tuner based on Iain Softley's 1994 movie of the same name. First seen at Glasgow's Citizens Theater in February 2010, the tuner, produced by Karl Sydow, is directed by Brit helmer David Leveaux ("Nine," "Arcadia") with a script by Softley and Stephen Jeffreys. The production will open at the Duke of York's Theater on Oct. 10, though casting is still to be determined. Unlike "Rain," the Broadway incarnation of which shuttered Sunday, "Backbeat" is not a tribute concert. The story of the birth of the legendary '60s band, production focuses on the story of Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles' original bass player who left the band for love in Hamburg and died at age 22. "Backbeat" isn't the first Brit play about the Beatles. Willy Russell's hit "John, Paul, George, Ringo... and Bert" opened in the West End in 1974 and ran for a year. David Harrower's play "Presence," which preemed at the Royal Court in 2001, also drew on their early story and was set in Hamburg before the band was famous. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com