The spirit of the 60’s was alive in Valpo tonight. The MegaBeatles came together to perform favorites such as “I am the Walrus,” “Twist and Shout,” and “I Feel Fine.”
“It’s exciting to have these guys back for the third year. They’ve sold out all three years, and we think it’s a wonderful way to kick off the 2017 season. It’s such a high energy concert and everyone is here to have a great time,” said Memorial Opera House Director, Scot Macdonald. “Everyone is in a great mood, our building looks great, and we’re ready for this.”
The crowd really enjoyed the Chris and Lou Band from their seats. They mouthed the words and felt the music, but by Crawpuppies, they came even more to life. For the final act, Chris and Lou combined with the Crawpuppies to become the MegaBeatles. The music the group was sending out immediately had people on the dance floor. People of all ages danced with friends, their kids, or their significant others. It was a night of pure happiness in Valpo.
During the show, projections showed album covers, peace signs, and fireworks. Lights danced across their instruments, and they rocked out just like the Beatles.
MegaBeatles is a talented group of musicians from Northwest Indiana and Chicago that recreate the music of the Beatles with precision, passion, and love.
The Memorial Opera House recently went through renovations including painting the box seats on either side of the stage, staining all of the wood, hand repainting decorations, and restoring PH levels in the plaster. These major improvements took place in the time of about a month and got the theatre ready for it’s unveiling tonight at the show.
One major improvement was taking the box seats from an old pink color to a beautiful deep green to match the walls.
“We’re so happy to see it all finished. The Opera House is so important to the community, and we feel that we’re giving back by beautifying this unbelievable gem of a building. It’s been a project very close to our hearts,” said Stephanie Leverich, who owns Leverich Painting and Design with her husband, Jeffrey.
"The Memorial Opera House has a wonderful staff and it's a wonderful experience," said Porter County Commissioner Laura Blaney of the theatre. "They've made the building finally match!"
Jacki Stutzman, President of the Memorial Opera House Foundation, helped lead a team that worked hard to prepare the opera house for tonight.
“We wanted to help by really deep cleaning the place. We vacuumed and scrubbed, and even had some high school kids involved. It’s nice to see people interested in keeping a wonderful place clean.”
Scot MacDonald is looking forward to the rest of the season.
“We’re kicking it off with the Producers in just a couple of weeks. It’s going to be a great season.”
Other shows this season include The Drowsy Chaperone, You Can’t Take it With You, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and A Christmas Story, a Musical. Which will feature the characters we know and love in a regional premiere.
Be sure to check out http://www.memorialoperahouse.com/ for more information.