The Beatles are coming!

A local man has experienced “A Day in the Life” of a Beatle every day for more than 20 years — and next weekend, he’s bringing that experience to Costa Mesa once again, when the Classical Mystery Tour returns.

The show features some of the original members of the Broadway show “Beatlemania,” performing their original versions of Beatles hits like “Yesterday,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yellow Submarine” and “A Hard Day’s Night” — live with the Pacific Symphony.

Jim Owen, who portrays John Lennon, plays rhythm guitar and piano and supplies vocals in the show.

A Huntington Beach native, Owen grew up in a musical home, with a living room set up for the best sound and stacks of classical albums to peruse.

His grandfather was a music critic, and the love of music was ingrained into the entire family.

Owen began studying the piano when he was only 6, and spent the next years garnering acclaim in competitions. But when he was 8 and first heard the music of the Beatles, he picked up a guitar.

In sixth grade, Owen recalls, he had a friend who was also a Beatles nut; he and his friend were “always trying to find a good John and Paul” to flesh out their band by the time they were attending Marina High School, he said.

He began taking gigs with Beatles tribute bands while only 16; by age 18, Owen was traveling the world with one of the many touring productions of “Beatlemania,” portraying George Harrison.

Another national tribute group, Twist and Shout, was in need of a Lennon — but Owen originally demurred, saying he didn’t want the spotlight that came with the role.

“I was pretty firm that I wanted to play George,” he said.

But Owen soon found himself irrevocably linked with Lennon when he took the Twist and Shout gig. He now performs with Twist and Shout as well as Classical Mystery Tour; the two share several band members. Owen has been Lennon ever since.

In 1996, Owen began to put his attention toward his dream of merging live Beatles music and the classical genre.

“I think, had I known all the real challenges in putting something like that together, I wouldn’t have tried it,” said Owen, whose duties ranged from getting the right sound in a concert hall to developing enough renown to even approach a symphony.

Luckily, Owen had enough contacts in the Beatles tribute world to call his favorite performers, who turned out to be available and interested in his scheme. In the Beatle band circuit, performers often stand in for each other as needed, Owen said.

The first Classical Mystery Tour performance was at Segerstrom Hall in 1996, starting a long relationship with the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The group now goes around the world, guest-starring with symphonies in Europe, Asia and Australia, among others like the Boston Pops.

“We’ve never played in England,” Owen said. “England is so rich with a supply of their own Beatles bands.”

There are more than two dozen songs in the repertoire — including, naturally, Paul McCartney’s solo hit “Live and Let Die.”

“We had to do that one because there was such amazing orchestration,” Owen said.

Purists will take heart in the group’s strict rule that the symphony doesn’t deviate from orchestral parts as they were recorded.

The demographics range from young to old, but the response from fans is always the same. Owen recalled one fan vividly: “He said, ‘I’m 80 years old, and I normally take a little nap during these, but not for you guys,’” Owen said.

But most importantly, despite the worldwide fame, Owen eventually won over his classical music-loving father, who wasn’t much of a Beatles fan until he saw his son perform.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Classical Mystery Tour

WHEN: 8 p.m. May 14 to 16

WHERE: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $25 to $150

INFORMATION: www.pacificsymphony.org

Reporter CANDICE BAKER may be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.