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TOMMY TIMES THREE
Northeast Ohio Native In Title Role of Rock Opera For Third Time

Cleveland-area native Michael Seelbach enjoys The Who's Tommy
so much, he's performing the title role for the third time in the new na-
tional tour of the rock opera coming to Cleveland this month.

Seelbach, 24, says it's Pete Townshend's music that makes the show
(which is done completely in song) timeless.

"I love it.  I really think this is one of the best scores ever written.  It
really doesn't get old," Seelbach said.

One big break landed him the lead in a 1995 non-Equity tour of Tommy
at age 18, right after he graduated fom high school.  Director Victoria
Bussert...asked him to audition in New York for her national tour of 
Tommy.

He joined Tommy again for the 1999 national tour.  This show was more
scaled down in set, choreography & costumes than the 1993 Broadway
production, straddling the line between a concert & a musical.

The current tour, launched by the same producer, also is minimalist.

"It's more like a group of actors getting together to tell the story," Seel-
bach said.

Tommy chronicles the life of Tommy Walker, who becomes catatonic
after a traumatic experience in his childhood.  Even so, he becomes a 
sort of messiah figure as the Pinball Wizard, then learns the cost of fame.

"It's a little hard to follow, but if you let the music take you, it's fun,"
Seelbach said.

The musical has universal themes of survival & forgiveness.  This time,
the actor aims to bring "a little more knowledge, a little more insight about
life" to his role.

He's also challenging himself by finding ways to sing his part differently.
His singing ranges from the pure sweetness of "See Me, Feel Me" to
raw rock toward the end of the show.

Seelbach calls this style of raspy rock, which borders on shrieking, "just
rockin' out."

His Broadway credits include Footloose, the revival of Jesus Christ Super-
star & Hair.

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- SCHRADE in Akron