OGUNQUIT — Jukebox musicals – stage productions built around the songs and stories of famous pop music artists – have been all the rage for the past decade, so it’s easy to forget that when “Beatlemania!” made its Broadway debut in the late 1970s, it was somewhat revelatory. Many Beatles musicals have followed in its wake, including the officially sanctioned Cirque du Soleil musical “Love,” but most have followed the same formula of actors/musicians portraying The Beatles in concert, performing at different stages of their career.

“Let It Be: A Celebration of the Music of The Beatles,” a touring Broadway production presented at the Ogunquit Playhouse through June 11, is no different. But that doesn’t diminish its charm, or the enjoyment of hearing the Fab Four’s biggest hits performed live by finely honed musicians. You never get transported to a place where, if you halfway close your eyes, you believe it’s really The Beatles on stage, but that’s not the point. The point is to present a performance that tips its hat to nostalgia while delivering songs that, perhaps more than any other artists’ work, remain timeless. And during last Friday’s performance, it accomplished both.

During the course of two acts and eight scenes, the audience follows the band Let It Be (not The Beatles, mind you – the band is never referred to as such, and the actors never refer to each other by name, perhaps due to copyright restrictions) as they rise from the house band at Liverpool’s Cavern in Club in 1962 to their final live performance on the Apple Corp. rooftop in 1969 and beyond to a fictional 1980 reunion concert.

The set is adorned by television screens that alternate between showing the live show and vintage concert, commercial and news footage from the appropriate period. The back of the set initially serves as a backdrop for additional imagery intended to enhance the illusion of being transported back in time, then explodes in a sea of psychedelic animation during the “Sgt. Pepper” period. Beyond that, the sole purpose of the set design is to look and feel like a concert stage. While not particularly ambitious, it is appropriate for the subject matter.

(One quibble regarding the live video: A half-second time delay made it appear as though the actors were lip-synching, and badly. Hopefully, this was just a one-show anomaly.)

Of all The Beatles – sorry, Let It Be – Michael Gagliano turns in the most realistic performance as John Lennon. Perhaps it’s appropriate that the only Britishborn actor in the cast most closely resembles the Beatle he’s portraying, but it’s obvious Gagliano has also spent countless hours perfecting his emulation of the late legend, from Lennon’s habit of chewing gum onstage and mugging for the audience to sarcastic quips and subtle acts of defiance (the open jacket during the Shea Stadium scene was a nice touch). When he appears in the last scene in Lennon’s iconic “New York City” sleeveless T-shirt and shades, the resemblance is downright spooky.

Chris McBurney (Ringo Starr) and JT Curtis (George Harrison) give the best musical performances of the four. McBurney does a spoton vocal on “With a Little Help from My Friends,” and manages to pull off difficult tempo changes on songs such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” with aplomb. Curtis’ lead guitar fretwork is note-perfect, and he does a good job of emulating Harrison’s personality progression from the quiet, Carl Perkins-imitating Beatle to the quiet, confident-in-his-own-right Beatle.

Nick Candelora may look more like Keith Richards circa 1967 than Paul McCartney, but he does an admirable job of imitating Sir Paul’s onstage quirks: throwing back his head when he laughs, bouncing up and down with his Hofner bass, bobbing his head back and forth while singing. However, he puts on an overtly thick Liverpudlian accent a bit much for my liking, especially during his solo performance of “Yesterday,” and he was off-key during the chorus of “I Feel Fine.” Overall, though, he put in a fine performance – and he should really consider playing Keef in a Rolling Stones jukebox musical.

The live music was augmented by backing tracks, which is a necessity when you’re trying to perform songs from “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” – remember, The Beatles had no intention of playing that material in concert, and were thus free to use as many overdubs as they liked in the studio. Helping out in this endeavor for “Let It Be” is music supervisor Daniel A. Weiss, who provided additional percussion, keyboards and sound effects from the rear of the stage during the later scenes.

Whenever you’re doing a production based on real events, there are bound to be some historical inaccuracies, and “Let It Be” is no exception. Lennon’s famous quote about rich people “rattling their jewelry” instead of clapping was uttered during the November 1963 Royal Variety Performance; here, he says it during the Ed Sullivan performance of February 1964. Curtis plays piano during “Imagine”; the real George Harrison couldn’t play piano beyond a few rudimentary chords. And during the aforementioned “reunion” concert of 1980, each Beatle is from a different period – Lennon circa 1974, McCartney circa 1976, Harrison circa 1987, and Ringo – well, Ringo has looked pretty much the same since 1978, so that’s to be forgiven.

But those are small complaints to what is a thoroughly enjoyable show. At various times during Friday’s performance, audience members were clapping, dancing in the aisles, and singing along to the songs that everyone knows so well. (And if you don’t know the chorus to “Hey Jude,” you probably shouldn’t see this show anyway.)

The best part of the show came during the final scene, during the “imagined” reunion segment. Because it never happened, the actors were free to improvise onstage rather than try to emulate much-seen historic footage, and at this point, “Let It Be” became less of a jukebox musical and more of a rock concert, complete with stage assistants.

The pinnacle of the night came during this final scene, when Curtis performed a solo during “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” that – dare I say it – exceeded Eric Clapton’s recorded version. When it was over, two strings on Curtis’ guitar were broken, the audience was on its feet thundering its approval, and Curtis was grinning from ear to ear.

And when you strip away the layers of mythology that have been applied to The Beatles over the past 50 years, that’s what remains – great music that evokes a joyous response.

“Let It Be” runs through June 11 at the Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St. (Route 1). For tickets, call 646-5511 or visit ogunquitplayhouse.org.

— Managing Editor Rod Harmon can be reached at 282-1535, ext. 319, or by email at [email protected].