What if, one November morning in 1980, Paul McCartney had rung John Lennon’s doorbell - and John had answered? From that simple, unprovable question comes Lennon and McCartney, a musical theater work that turns speculation into a carefully constructed act of remembrance.
Presented by Le Théâtre des Muses from Feb. 5 to Feb. 8, 2026, the production imagines a final encounter between the two central figures of the Beatles. It is described as the first musical to tell the story of the band, revisiting excerpts from their greatest songs while placing the focus not on myth, but on friendship: its intimacy, its fractures, and its lingering power.
The premise is openly fictional, but the ambition is serious. Rather than offering a conventional biography or a rock retrospective, the show proposes what its creators call an audacious and passionate act of imagination - “mieux qu’un rock-study,” as one description puts it. The result, according to French critics, is a work that balances humor, tenderness and emotional precision.
“With British finesse and humor, the choice of songs is judicious,” wrote Le Parisien. La Provence called it “a touching, sensitive, subtle and funny work of fiction,” adding that it is “a shame this little gem has to end.” Chérie FM described the piece as “extremely funny and moving,” while Paris Theatre Reviews praised the two performers as “excellent actors, musicians and singers” who are “captivating.” For Culture Tops, the show has “the great merit of magically transporting us into their story, both grand and intimate.” Spectatif noted “a captivating show where tenderness is ever-present.”
Running 1 hour and 20 minutes, the production is staged as a theatrical conversation infused with music - refrains, melodies and chords that, despite the well-documented disagreements between Lennon and McCartney, became a global cultural bond for several generations. As one commentary included in the production materials observes, the piece is “extremely well documented” and offers audiences “the improbable and brilliant possibility of sharing the intimacy of the creative process behind the greatest musical successes of the 20th century.”
For older spectators, the show is presented as a Proustian return to formative sounds; for younger ones, an entry point into a defining chapter of popular music. A brief contextual framing evokes the era and the extraordinary journey of “four young men” who were, as the text puts it, “dans le vent.”
Performances are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, and Friday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 7, at 6:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 8, at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The question at the heart of Lennon and McCartney remains unanswered, and intentionally so. History cannot be rewritten. But for 80 minutes onstage, the idea that a conversation might have taken place - and that it might have mattered - is treated with restraint, respect and a quiet sense of wonder.
Photo credits: Le Théâtre des Muses