A MUSICAL about John Lennon that made it to Broadway after a troubled try-out in San Francisco, a cancelled run in Boston and a radical rewrite, has been dismissed as “Ono-centric” by critics.

The “jukebox-musical” of Lennon’s life incorporates just one original Beatles song — The Ballad of John and Yoko — and abandons his career with the group by the middle of the first act. Critics said yesterday that it turned Yoko Ono, his widow, who controls the use of Lennon’s solo music, into the real star of the show. Ben Brantley, of The New York Times, said: “While the world may love a love story, it seems safe to say that Lennon ultimately will be remembered less as the husband of Ms Ono than as a member of the group that changed the face of popular music.”

Lennon gallops through the musician’s life. The story, written and directed by Don Scardino, is told in Lennon’s own words, except for his 1980 murder by a deranged fan, which is recounted by a New York policeman. But most critics agreed that the cast were upstaged by the final scene, in which the audience see video footage of Lennon singing Imagine with Ono at his side.

Ono, whom Lennon married in 1969, has been involved in the production since its inception almost seven years ago.

She said that her role has simply been to protect Lennon’s music, adding: “It is definitely John’s story — from Liverpool 1940 to New York 1980. I am the B-side, and that’s how it should be. I think he would have loved it.”

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