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'The Who's Tommy' at Orpheum
BY BUD NORMAN
The Wichita Eagle

Rock opera lovers are apt to love Stage One's
production of "The Who's Tommy," the universally
acknowledged masterpiece of its admittedly minuscule
genre, and regular rock 'n' rollers and musical
theater buffs are also likely to be impressed.

Rock 'n' roll fans of the old school never fully
embraced the rock opera concept, preferring their rock
in sloppily extemporaneous and pretension-free
three-minute chunks, and this critic -- who
matriculated at the school they tore down to build the
old school -- shares those misgivings. "Tommy,"
written way back in '68 and revised for Broadway in
'91 by Pete Townshend with additional words and music
by fellow The Who-ers John Entwistle and Keith Moon,
is particularly problematic from this point of view.

The plot involves a child rendered deaf, dumb and
blind by the trauma of seeing his father return from
World War II to shoot his mother's lover, and then his
mistreatment at the hands of cruel relatives, his rise
to pinball glory and self-help superstardom, followed
by his eventual self-fulfillment. Such a piled-on
story allows "Tommy" to touch on themes ranging from
fascism to child abuse to fame in the media age to
almost anything else a self-important '60s rock star
might ponder, and requires more expositional music
than Townshend's muse seems able to provide.

Still, there's enough good stuff here to satisfy even
the most cynical rocker, and the current production
makes the most of the material. Director Nick Demos
and his talent-packed cast, crew and rock band have
created a psychedelically stylized show that flows
with an authentic rock 'n' roll energy and infuses
freshness into the old songs.

Helping considerably is a strong performance by Tom
Stuart as the adult incarnation of the title role. A
commanding physical presence with rebellious good
looks redolent of The Who heartthrob Roger Daltry,
Stuart also handles the music with sufficient
down-and-dirtiness.

Chad Frisque brings the right mix of gravitas and
helplessness to the role of Tommy's father, Capt.
Walker, and comedy master Barb Schoenhofer simply
shines in a rare dramatic turn as Mrs. Walker, a role
demanding emotional subtlety as well as some
exceedingly difficult singing. Local radio personality
and longtime amateur thespian Ted Woodward nearly
steals the show from his more experienced cast mates
in a darkly comic performance as wicked Uncle Ernie.

The ensemble is uniformly outstanding, and offers
several lead-worthy stars of the local theater scene a
chance to shine. Brent Moon brings real rock 'n' roll
attitude to his role as loutish Cousin Kevin, Jamie
Buxton revives happy go-go memories as groupie Sally
Simpson, and ever-reliable Robert Barnes adds needed
menace in several roles. Kimberlee Grice has a fine
voice and fills out a pair of stockings effectively as
The Gypsy, but the role better known as The Acid Queen
might benefit from a skankier and screechier performer
than the one-time Miss Kansas.

Purists will appreciate the rockin' accompaniment, led
by Laura Bergquist and Traci Tilson with a
sufficiently authentic rock band that includes Tilson,
Mark Mazu, Tim Raymond, Steve Hatfield, Sean Fanning
and local punk rock scene fixture Ron Smith. Kate
Thornton's leathery costumes and J. Branson's stylish
sets add appropriate flavor, Larry Jones' sound design
is up to the rock 'n' roll demands, and Sean
Roberson's outstanding light work is worthy of the old
Fillmore.

Additional performances are at 8 p.m. today, 2 p.m.
Sunday and 8 p.m. Thursday through April 19 at the
Orpheum.


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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