The Musical Box

Denis Gagné

Photograph: Jean-Marc Hamel

Tribeca Performing Arts Center; Thu 20, Fri 21

When buzz about a Genesis reunion tour started to circulate in 2005, there was apparently reason to believe that Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett would return to the fold. Gabriel quashed that notion on short order; still, hope springs eternal, and the rumor mill has shifted its focus to 2008. But anyone who wants to get a firsthand glimpse of what Genesis was like during its early days is better off looking into the Musical Box, a Montreal tribute act founded in 1993.

“A cover band?” you ask. Hardly. During its salad days, Genesis was known not only for florid, quirky musical epics like “Supper’s Ready” and “Cinema Show,” but also for its groundbreaking stage productions, which included elaborate costumes, innovative lighting and chimerical stage patter. The Musical Box re-creates those early spectacles with the fidelity of a repertory theater company and the exacting rigor of a classical period-instrument ensemble.

The Musical Box will present two different historical sets here: 1973’s Selling England by the Pound (Thursday 20) and 1974’s stage production “Black Show” (Friday 21). Making this particular engagement even more compelling is the band’s current state of flux: Denis Gagné, the group’s extraordinary Gabriel, will sit out next year’s new Trick of the Tail tour. And Mahavishnu Project drummer Gregg Bendian takes over as Phil Collins, replacing Martin Levac—now portraying yacht-rock–era Collins in another tribute act, Turn It On Again. It seems that those who do know history are also doomed to repeat it.

—Steve Smith