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Re: Tommy on Broadway



> 
> Not to beat a dead horse, but I have to gush about seeing Tommy on
> Broadway (got sent to Times Square for a journalism convention, so it
> worked out pretty well, even if tix are still ridiculously overpriced
> at 50% off).
> 
> I have to compliment Pete and Des McAnuff -- or whoever was in charge
> of working the story out -- for turning what I've always seen as a
> somewhat surreal, not entirely consistent plot into something that
> could be done as a two-hour Broadway musical.  I always wondered how
> Tommy could have been a pinball wizard when he was a wee tot in 1921.
> The musical solves that by making "Twenty-one" by Tommy's mum's 21st
> birthday and setting the whole story to start in WWII, not WWI.
> 
> So, my only complaints were (a) it wasn't really the Who (some of the
> style of B-way singing was a bit hard to stomach, especially "Acid
> Queen"), (b) they toned it down too much in parts (cut the rape lyrics
> to "We're Not Gonna Take It"; made Uncle Ernie's "Fiddle About" seem
> more plaintive than actual, etc.), and (c) the finale was rather weak.
> 
> As for the show's strong point, I would have to say that "21/You
> Didn't Hear It" came off much better than the original version, if
> only because you can tell who is saying what and see the drama with
> Tommy's returning father who finds his wife with her lover.  It was,
> for some reason, very moving in a terrible way to watch them scream at
> young Thomas "You won't say nothing to no one, never in your life."
> 
> My random comments.  I'm not sure how many of you in list land have
> seen the show, whether in NYC or on tour, but my criticisms are open
> for debate.
> 
> Wes
> 

I saw Tommy performed here in Philly last November. I went half-heartedly,
expecting it to be too Broadway for my "uncultured" tastes, but ended up
loving it once I got over my expectation of it sounding just like the Who.
Yeah, the singing was a little hard to take but I found the overall drama
and some of the dancing to more than make up for that.  The toned down
rape lyrics bothered me, too, but I liked the subtlety of Uncle Ernie
more than, say, Moon or Phil Collins' cartoon characters. Favorite song/
dance number was "Sensation."
Sure beats the movie Tommy.

Sherry
LaL #7273
snelson@astro.ocis.temple.edu