Beatles' RAIN on Tour: Jimmy Irizarry Shares Experiences Playing John Lennon

Generations have loved listening to the Beatles music. RAIN is a beautiful walk down memory lane for many who grew up listening to the legendary music. It's also a chance for a younger generation to come appreciate how innovative the Beatles were for their time and how they shaped the music industry today. BWW caught up with Jimmy who plays John Lennon in RAIN on tour and he shared with us his deep appreciation for this band and for the show.

Tell us how you got involved in performing.

I'm a big Beatles fan myself. I was raised on the music. I'm from Chicago. I come from a large family and I'm the youngest one of my family. My older brothers and sister listened to the Beatles records as I was growing up and I overheard it and the Beatles were one of the big things that we watched on TV. The movies would come out, "Hard Day's Night" or "Help," oh, it's Beatlemania, we better watch it. We'd play some of the records and one of my favorite records growing up was the "Rubber Soul" album. I'd put that on and play it until it was all scratched up. I had early exposure to the music and I was a big fan right away. That wasn't the only music. I always had a radio or record going in the house. I was always a big music fan. Later on, I picked up acoustic guitar and later electric guitar. A musical family; my older brothers were talented and musical and we always sang. We did various types of music so it was a natural thing to me to want to play the Beatles music, want to learn the songs on guitar. I would sing along. I tried to sing parts, whichever, John or Paul, so it was a very natural fit for me later on. I didn't think of it until much later to try to do it professionally. I've always been a musician at least as an amateur until I was in my 30's. In my 30's, I decided to go into it professionally and full-time so it's worked out quite well.

How were you cast in the role of John?

I had to go and audition and I found out through a friend that they were auditioning. This was back in 2010, in January. They flew me out to Memphis, Tennessee where they were doing a show. That's where the main cast was and I came out and did the audition and did very well. Right away, they liked what they heard and saw and the rest is history. I'm joined the band. I started doing shows right in Dallas where my first shows were played. It was a big auditorium there and it had three or four thousand people in the audience. I was pretty nervous. Starting a new show, with a new band was a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun there in Dallas. And I'm still with them five years later. Looking forward to a big Texas tour.

What are some things you learned about yourself along the way since you've been playing this iconic musician?

I actually have some similarities to John. As a matter of fact, the first person to point that out was my older brother, Eddie. When I was in my early 20's, we'd be in a restaurant and he'd look over and say, "You look like John Lennon" and he'd get this silly grin on his face. I said, "What?" I didn't see it the time. I might have been trying to look like Paul. I was actually more of a Paul fan early on then I got more into John and his music and tried to sing his songs more. And I found that was a better fit actually for my vocal range and I sounded more like John as well. It brought out the performer in me. Most people didn't see it. I'm more of a quieter person. My cousins would say, "What's shy Jimmy up there playing John Lennon?" Made me more of an outgoing person I think being a performer and talking with people after the show.

What are some things you've learned about the Beatles since you've been playing the role?

There's something I learn almost every week, something new about individual recordings, the way they were done, different details about how they would record, how they wrote a particular song. I've read several books on the subject. Always interesting, an interesting subject.

What are some of your favorite songs to perform in the show?

Some of my favorites? There are quite a few, actually. Some of the early ones, "Please, Please Me," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," "Hard Day's Night," "Help." Some of the later ones I like as well; "All You Need is Love," "Come Together," "Revolution," You like one song for a few months and you get tired of it and get into a different one.

What are the audiences like at the shows?

That's a good question because the audiences are never the same. It's always a different experience with every audience and you'll have some where it's like a sports game and right away you can tell. They're cheering and singing along and really enjoying. There's the other end of the spectrum where they're on the quiet side and thinking maybe they're not really into it. Maybe they're not really enjoying the show. What's wrong? What am I doing wrong? Well, then you think again. You're not doing anything wrong, it's just a different kind of an audience. Some of them are more laid back and more quiet but it doesn't mean that they are not appreciating the show. They are still enjoying the show. Not every town is the same. I think for the most part we get more of the raucous kind of responses and we see a lot of smiling faces out there and that's always a big encouragement. People having a good time and I see them singing along and when we ask them to get up to dance along with "Twist and Shout." And we usually get a good response.

Do you get a chance to meet fans at the stage door?

Yeah, quite often. We receive compliments on how we did and how we portrayed our individual characters as well as the musical quality of the show. It's the whole entertainment value of the show. It's a very gratifying job. It's a very fun job. It's great to see the fans and how happy we make them.

RAIN plays in Austin, Texas February 6-7, 2015. Tickets can be purchased by going to Texas Performing Arts website.

PHOTO CREDIT: Cyllavon Tiedemann

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