The iconic songs, the mop-top haircuts, the swarms of screaming teenyboppers, the worldwide idolatry… Beatlemania, the pop-culture fever that emerged in the early ’60s, essentially canonizing the four young Liverpudlians who became the catalyst for a rock revolution, is being reborn on Broadway: The British Invasion is once again storming the U.S. via the critically acclaimed concert-musical Let It Be.

Originally developed to celebrate the Beatles’ 50th anniversary, Let It Be premiered in 2012, playing nightly to sold-out audiences at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre before transferring to the city’s legendary Savoy Theatre, where it continues to “Twist and Shout” for audiences comprised of baby boomers and their descendants (some of the later generations being recent converts to the awesomeness of the Fab Four).

Which brings us to Let It Be’s Broadway debut at the St. James Theatre for a five-and-a-half-month run.  

Using mammoth-scale video and artistic projections, the musical surrounds theatregoers visually, and then goes on to create a complete concert atmosphere enhanced by 3D sound. The end result is an audio/visual experience that blurs the timeline between then and now and features a hand-picked, staggeringly accurate group of musician/performers in the personas of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

“The show is designed to be an immersive experience for the audience, so they can get lost in it,” says set designer Tim McQuillen-Wright, whose impressive multimedia elements create both the ultimate experiential homage to the Beatles’ musical repertoire and an idealized nostalgia trip.

“Lots of bands have been able to treat their songs like a back catalog—but obviously the Beatles never did, so this show becomes the gig you so wished they did,” he adds.

Another key member of the production’s creative team, sound designer Gareth Owen, says he is blown away by the dead-on performances delivered during the show. “If you are fan of the Beatles, this is the closest you can get to watching them on stage, ” he observes. “The guys on stage really nail all the nuances.”

Owen could easily tout the production he’s worked so closely to perfect, but he takes into account the expertise and opinions of another very qualified judge: his mother.

“My mum actually saw the Beatles perform live on several occasions,” he states. “She says, ‘If you close your eyes you could be back there’—and my mum’s quite a tough critic!”

Between Owen’s mum’s first-hand validation and a staggering number of critical accolades from the British media (“This show is about as good as it gets”—Daily Telegraph; “Fab for all the family”—The Times of London; “The next best thing to seeing the boys live!”—Absolute Radio), it’s clear that U.S. audiences are in for the ultimate Beatlemania experience.

The show boasts forty of the group’s songs, spanning their trajectory from four unknown blokes playing Liverpool’s Cavern Club to world-renowned superstars. Among the tunes you’ll hear during Let It Be are “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “Drive My Car,” “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude,” “Come Together” and the show’s famous namesake, “Let It Be.”

Though the Beatles’ stamp on the world is unwavering, Let It Be gives fans and music lovers a sense of closure for the beloved band. McQuillen-Wright says it best when he describes the show: “It’s as if the Beatles had given one final gig to say, ‘This is what we were.’”

St. James Theater, 246 W. 44th St. For tickets, call 212-239-6200 or click here.