The play, inspired by recently released FBI files on the late musician, got its Off-Broadway premiere at the DR2 theatre March 28, after previews from March 16. Daryl Roth—who lends the "DR" to the DR2 theatre—is the producer. Starring in the piece are Dan Lauria and Bill Dawes. The two also starred when Beatle was performed July 2-19, 2003, by Barrington Stage Company in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

The playwright, known for the Off-Broadway and regional play, Camping With Henry and Tom, also directs the work.

The play is about two FBI agents—one old and embittered, one young and idealistic—working during the time of J.Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon. Their undercover assignment is to conduct surveillance on John Lennon, then considered to be a public enemy by Hoover and the Republican administration, which wanted the rock star deported to England. The play is billed as a "thought-provoking and gripping look at life and liberty in the '70s, when peace and paranoia swept the nation and then—as now—there were no secrets in America but the truth."

The show has a set design by Eric Renschler; lighting design by Daniel Ordower; sound design by Randy Hansen; costume design by David Woolard.