"Tommy" nearly kills community college

["Brian Cady" <cadyb@home.com>]

Online at:
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2000/Nov-03-Fri-2000/weekly/14688110.html

Huge Undertaking
Producer, staff overwhelmed by scope of stage musical 'Tommy'
By KEN WHITE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Tommy," as anyone who has seen the stage musical knows, is not a simple little tale with a few rocking tunes.

It's a constant swirl of movement, with set pieces moved in and out, and a cast that's constantly making costume changes.

And if producer Douglas Baker had known just how involved the whole thing is, it probably wouldn't be hitting the stage today in the
Nicholas Horn Theatre at the Community College of Southern Nevada's Cheyenne campus.

"If I had ever seen `Tommy' before, we'd never do it. Little did we know how huge this show is," Baker says. "It almost killed us. I
think if several of the staff could strangle me for choosing this, they would."

Not only does the show require perfect timing on the part of a 25-member cast, the "Tommy" set -- designed by Michael Boyer of the
Gateway Theatre in Connecticut, from which the college obtained parts of the set -- uses more than 30 television monitors with 12
slide projectors and several large screens. Practically every extension chord and power outlet on the campus is being used, Baker
says.

And the fast-moving show features 400 costumes.

One thing "Tommy" has in its favor is an acclaimed director of big musicals, Phil Shelburne, who has directed "Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Barnum," "Big River" and "Little Shop of Horrors."

At a recent rehearsal, just days before opening night, Shelburne watched a continuous run-through of the show.

"The first act is rough, there isn't the right music ... but everything will come together," he said, noting that shows tend to fall
into place in the last few days of rehearsal.

The plot of "Tommy" is straightforward, told through a multitude of scenes.

Set in England between the end of World War II and the swinging '60s, "Tommy" follows the traumatic childhood of catatonic Tommy
Walker, who becomes the heroic Pinball Wizard.

It's based on the 1969 megaselling album by the Who and includes the classic songs "Amazing Journey," "I'm Free," "Sensation," "The
Acid Queen" and "Pinball Wizard." The music and lyrics are by Pete Townshend and the book is by Townshend and Des McAnuff.

The multiracial cast includes Keith Dotson as Tommy; Satomi Hofmann as his mother, Mrs. Walker; and Geoffrey Bennett as his father,
Capt. Walker.

Other cast members include Joshua Reisman as Cousin Kevin; Michael Close as Cousin Ernie; Antoine Coward as Tommy at 10; and Alonzo
Burke as 4-year-old Tommy.

"We wanted to do something that would appeal to a younger audience," Baker says.

And because it was popular with people who are now aging baby boomers, Baker believed the musical would cut across generational
lines.

"It reaches out to a whole spectrum of the community," he says.

Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and $5 for students with Community College of Southern Nevada ID.

what: "Tommy"
when: 8 p.m. today-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
where: Nicholas Horn Theatre, Community College of Southern Nevada, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave., North Las Vegas
tickets: $5-$12.50 (651-5483)
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