The vocals of the cast of the Beatles tribute show All You Need Is Love could almost pass as the real thing.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE Tribute to The Beatles. Directed and choreographed by Cedric Vandenschrik, musical director Shaun Johannes. At GrandWest’s Roxy Revue Bar, Wednesdays to Saturdays until March 17. DEBBIE HATHWAY reviews

LOCAL muso Cedric Vandenschrik’s latest offering at GrandWest’s Roxy Revue Bar is a tribute to the Liverpool quartet who, in the beginning, felt that if they were lucky, they might be successful for a few years.

Almost 60 years on, The Beatles still have a huge fan following across generations. All You Need Is Love opens almost predictably with four men in Beatles guise, a background AV projecting original footage of the public hysteria that accompanied their appearances, live and on television.

With Vandenschrik on acoustic guitar and vocals, Chad Zerf on vocals, Aldert du Toit on electric guitar and vocals with Adam Coolsaet on drums, they present a pleasing first set with aplomb. Beatles fans will appreciate the carefully constructed left-handed bass-playing image projected by Zerf, Paul McCartney-style, as well as the tone and pitch of the singers which could almost pass as the real thing.

The men leave the stage and everything changes. Enter Candice Malander-Thorne in casual wear for an incredible, slow version of Help. She is joined by bassist Rob Nel and keyboardist Tracy Johannes and eventually by the rest of the cast in casual garb, sans wigs and suits.

The programme includes a medley, honouring some of the women The Beatles wrote about: Eleanor Rigby, Norwegian Wood and Michelle, and an incredible While My Guitar Gently Weeps highlight solo by Du Toit on vocals and guitar.

Costume changes fluctuate between casual and evening wear for Malander-Thorne, but the return to suits for the John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr representatives makes no sense.

What’s more, they needed a whole lot more help from their (wardrobe) friends to get it right. Du Toit, in his first professional show, was particularly challenged by the angle of his wig, but to his credit was equally unfazed by the audience’s hilarity, which proved to be excessive.

His fellow band members took it in their stride too – the performance didn’t miss a beat.

The beginnings of another surprise surface as Zerf tickles the ivories in Revolution. He later takes over the piano for I Am the Walrus and Long and Winding Road as well as Let It Be, accompanying Malander-Thorne on vocals.

Vandenschrik likes to strut his stuff during the upbeat numbers and the audience responded well to his energy in songs like Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da. Coolsaet, on the other hand, is typically “Ringo-ish” in his management of drums and percussion, and undoubtedly an asset to the group.

With Hey Jude performed as one of the encores, this tribute ended on a high note after doing justice to the memory of the group that is considered to be one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed to date.

During the final bows, homage was paid to a left-handed, violin-shaped semi-hollow McCartney bass guitar that held pride of place on stage. After two months of searching, and two days before opening night, the owner responded to an old Facebook group post confirming that he would lend Vandenschrik the instrument for the duration of the run.

l Tickets are R67. Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 8.30pm. To book, call Computicket at 0861 915 8000.