The Who's Tommy
| The Who's Tommy | |
|---|---|
| File:TommyBway.jpg Original Broadway Recording | |
| Music | Pete Townshend |
| Lyrics | Pete Townshend |
| Book | Pete Townshend Des McAnuff |
| Basis | Tommy rock opera by The Who |
| Productions | 1969 rock opera 1975 film 1979 West End 1993 Broadway 1996 West End revival |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Score |
The Who's Tommy is a rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on The Who's 1969 double album rock opera Tommy, also by Pete Townshend.
Productions
The musical opened at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California in July 1992.[1]
The Broadway debut was at the St. James Theatre on April 22, 1993 and closed on June 17, 1995, after 899 performances and 27 previews. Directed by Des McAnuff with choreography by Wayne Cilento, the original cast included Michael Cerveris (Tommy), Marcia Mitzman (Mrs. Walker), and Jonathan Dokuchitz (Captain Walker), Cheryl Freeman (The Gypsy/Acid Queen), Alice Ripley, Norm Lewis, and Sherie Rene Scott. The play subsequently was produced by various touring companies throughout North America and Europe.
An original cast recording was produced by RCA Victor and released on July 13, 1993.[2]
A Canadian Production opened at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto on March 1, 1995, and played throughout the year.[3] The production featured an entirely Canadian cast, and the lead character of Tommy was played by Tyley Ross.[4] Once the Toronto run ended, the production went on a Cross-Canada tour.
A revival ran in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre from March 5, 1996 until February 8, 1997, featuring Paul Keating (Tommy) and Kim Wilde (Mrs. Walker). [1]
A European tour of Tommy opened on January 26, 2005 at the Chasse Theatre in Breda, The Netherlands. The opening was set to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original Tommy album by The Who.
It was announced in late September 2008 that the original Broadway cast will perform a one night only reunion benefit concert to be held at the August Wilson theater in New York City on December 15, 2008. The concert will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, the Broadway Dreams Foundation and the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation.
Plot
- Act I
1940: Against the backdrop of World War II appears a montage of the Walkers' meeting, courtship, marriage, Captain Walker's departure for the front and capture, and his internment in a POW camp ("Overture"). Back in London, two officers arrive at 22 Heathfield Gardens to bring Mrs. Walker tragic news ("Captain Walker").
1941: A nurse gently hands Mrs. Walker her newborn son ("It's a Boy").
1945: Captain Walker is freed and heads home, arriving as Mrs. Walker is celebrating her birthday with her lover and four-year-old son ("Twenty-One"). Looking in a mirror, Tommy sees the furious Captain Walker shoot and kill the lover. The Walkers realize what Tommy has witnessed ("What About the Boy") and the police arrive to investigate while Tommy just stares at his own reflection. The narrator - Tommy's older self - appears, visible only to Tommy ("Amazing Journey").
Courtroom: Captain Walker is found not guilty, but the family celebration dies out as they realize Tommy is now deaf, dumb, and blind. Hospital: A battery of doctors and nurses examine Tommy ("Sparks").
1950: The Walkers take ten-year-old Tommy to church and to a family dinner ("Christmas") where he responds to Uncle Ernie's playing the French Horn and the older Tommy's unseen presence ("See Me, Feel Me"). Back home, the Walkers worry about whether to leave Tommy with the drunken Uncle Ernie ("Do You Think It's Alright"), while once alone with Tommy, Ernie molests him ("Fiddle About"). Tommy's next babysitter, Cousin Kevin, taunts him mercilessly ("Cousin Kevin") and then takes him to the youth club where, to everyone's astonishment, Tommy plays pinball brilliantly ("Sensation"). Encouraged, the Walkers try yet another doctor, a psychiatrist, who tests Tommy without success ("Sparks (Reprise)"). A desperate Mr. Walker is approached by The Hawker and Harmonica Player ("Eyesight to the Blind") who promise a miraculous cure for Tommy. They take father and son to the Isle of Dogs to find a prostitute called The Gypsy ("Acid Queen") although Mr. Walker ends by snatching the boy back in horror. The act ends in 1958 as a group of teenagers await 17-year-old Tommy's appearance at the amusement arcade ("Pinball Wizard").
- Act II
1960: Tommy has become the pinball champion and hero of the neighborhood lads. ("Underture"). Mr. Walker, still in search of a cure, convinces Mrs. Walker to try once more ("There's a Doctor"). They take Tommy to specialists ("Go To the Mirror / Listening to You") for elaborate tests, to no avail. On the street a group of local louts surround Tommy ("Tommy, Can You Hear Me?") and carry him home. The Walkers, at their wit's end and considering having Tommy institutionalized, compassionately confront one another ("I Believe My Own Eyes"). Tommy stares into the mirror as Mrs. Walker tries desperately to reach him ("Smash the Mirror"). With the mirror in pieces, Tommy becomes conscious (I'm Free) and leaves home, while his cure hits the news ("Miracle Cure").
1961-1963: Tommy is lionized by the public and the press ("Pinball Wizard (Reprise)") and begins appearing in stadiums, where Uncle Ernie tries to capitalize on his stardom ("Tommy's Holiday Camp"). Teenage Sally Simpson manages to get on stage and touch Tommy but, when he pushes her aside, she falls and is pummeled by the guards ("Sally Simpson"). Aghast, Tommy realizes how caught up in the celebrity machine he has become. He tends to her and invites everyone back to his house ("Welcome"). Once there, Sally asks Tommy how she can be more like him ("Sally Simpson's Question"). He insists there is no reason to be like him; who she is, is enough.
Disenchanted with their hero for failing to provide instant salvation, the crowd turns on him and leaves ("We're Not Going to Take It"). Tommy hears the voice of his ten-year-old self ("See Me, Feel Me") and for a moment seems to be reverting to his old state, but instead he turns to his family and embraces them in acceptance and reunion with his younger selves ("Listening to You").
Characters
- Principals
- Tommy, Age: 16-25, A young genius
- Captain Walker, Age: 25-35, Tommy's handsome father
- Mrs Walker, Age: 18-30
- Other Tommys
- Tommy-Age 4, Age: 3-7 (Young Tommy)
- Tommy-Age 10, Age:8-12 (Second Tommy)
- Supporting
- Cousin Kevin, Age: 15-20, Tommy's evil babysitter
- Uncle Ernie, Age: 30-45, Tommy's perverted uncle
- The Hawker, Age: 20-50, Leader of New Age Cult
- The Acid Queen, Age: 20-35, A drug dealer and prostitute
- The Doctor, Age: 30-50, A doctor who has new theories on how to cure Tommy
- Sally Simpson, Age: 13-20, A typical teenage girl
Song list
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- Source: Internet Broadway Database