The Beatle's Love (2007) versus Beatlemania (1980)

Besides 25 years and quite a few changes in technology, there is a lot that separates the Broadway play Beatlemania from Cirque du Soleil's LOVE at the Mirage Hotel.

Despite ending almost 25 years before LOVE began, I think they used technology much more to their advantage in Beatlemania. Using a see through screen, you first see the Fab Four in what appears to be a Television Set. In some cases the band played in front of and behind rear projection and front projected images.

Beatlemania also used a chronological format for presenting the sixties and the Beatles career. Much like the Blue and Red Albums issued by Capitol Records, they pulled equally from all seven years of their career.

LOVE on the other hand primarily focuses on Sergeant Peppers, Abbey Road and the White Album. They keep on moving forwards and backwards from 1967 to 1969 to fit the shows purposes. While Beatlemania used both music and images to create the confusion and hysteria of drugs, Cirque pulls a tarp over your head for 30 seconds (go figure).

While LOVE has its own strengths it makes no effort to represent the four Beatles (with the exception of a few seconds where they are shown as four shadows). Instead they used four school boys to represent the Beatles. Unless you know a lot about their personal histories, there is no way of knowing which one is John, Paul, George or Ringo.