Pete Interview about Tommy.

[pstevens@chinacat.Metaphor.COM (Paul Stevens)]

In yesterday's local (San Jose) paper there was an article about
"Tommy" along with snipets of an interview with Pete.  Without
typing the whole article in, I will give the whole interview.
In quotes is Pete and without is text of the article (only where
needed) in braces are my editorial comments.

"What I have always wanted in theater is the release you get at
a good concert or, perhaps, in a Pentecostal revival.  There's
still a feeling that when you go to a theater you have to sit
there like a lump of coal."

He allows himself a wicked laugh at the thought.
It is June 22, and he has come to the Bay Area [Damn, I missed
a chance to grovel outside his hotel!] to meet with the cast
and the band of the theatrical version of his 1969 rock opera,
"Tommy".

"I think there are people out there who won't come to see 'Tommy'
because they think they are going to be disappointed", he says,
his brow furrowing. "I sympathize with them, because 'Tommy' is
one of those rock'n'roll bits thats been sanctified."

"But for me, this piece is some of the clearest, most articulate
work that I've ever done.  When I first saw it (onstage), I knew
that this was the place that 'Tommy' could finally land."  [he's
refering to the La Jola, CA version]

"I wasn't surprised, when I first saw it, as much as I was relieved.
I thought, finally, someone has done what they said they would do 
(with 'Tommy').  I had worked with a number of people in the past...
but Des made good on his promises."

"I'd say, 'But Des, how are we going to delineate the back story at
the start?' and he'd very patiently say, 'Well we're going to do it
with slides and things like that.'  And he did!"

"When I first created 'Tommy', I did it with the understanding that
people of the time were exploring the limits of their imaginations.
They were in pursuit of a spiritual awakening.  When they sat down
to listen to 'Tommy' with a joint in hand or whatever, they were
saying to themselves - and probably to me - 'We want to go somewhere'.
And I specifically left parts of the story open to allow them to
reflect and review."

"But with this version of 'Tommy', I approached it from the point of
view of the dramatist.  Onstage, you have to tie things up in a sense
And I did tie it up at the end.  But I didn't add anything that wasn't
there to bein with.

...[the play] follows Tommy and the rest of the characters through a
fairly straightforward story, much as in any theatrical piece.  In
the end, Tommy - no longer deaf, dumb and blind - returns to his family
in a finale that seems to affirm the possibility of redemption, as the
cast members triumphantly sing the stirring lines to "Listening To You".

"When I wrote that originally, I think I was acknowledging the need for
epiphany.  Now what I get out of it is that there is the possiblity
of an epiphany; the feeling that maybe we can get things right"

[refering to Uncle Ernie Pete concedes that] "some of the ideas of
'Tommy' have been devalued by time.  Uncle Ernie was a comment by me
on the sexual hypocrisy of the generation that came before mine.
It was about some of the things they refuesd to talk about.  But,
now Uncle Ernie has become a reality.  He isn't a metaphor or a joke
anymore.  That falls hard.  It is the trickiest piece in the show.
People start to laugh when he sings about the fiddling about; and then
they feel they shouldn't.  Their embarrassment is my embarrassment.

[about how well 'Tommy' has held up]

"Unlike the punks, who only offered negativism and anarchy, I think
the people of my musical generation had a sense of what (music) had
gone before.  I realized that the first rock songs were probably
written by Hank Williams in the 40's.  Even the music of people such as
Ellington, and especially the blues performers, was a precursor of what
we were doing in rock."

"I remember when we did 'Tommy' the first time at the Filmore East,
Leonard Bernstien came backstage with his daughters and he shook me
and said, 'Do you know what you've done'!  Of course, what he was
talking about was that I was going the next step in what he had done
with 'West Side Story', which was creating a popular song cycle, a
musical that was really rooted in street culture"

"When I wrote 'Tommy', I was a fractured adolescent banging my head
against the bars of my cell.  Now I'm not trying to break the ties
that bind, either in rock or the theater.  the work that I've done on
on this version of 'Tommy' has helped me in my new craft as a dramatist.
I think that there is a certain dramatic integrity that is invloved in 
creating a piece for the theater.  The story can't be as open as it is
in rock songs.  It has to be resolved."

"I've also learned that I can't do everything myself.  I have to work
with the right people.  That is much different from my days in the
Who when I was a creative machine, writing songs and recording them
and performing them onstage."

"Now I think my understanding of my role as an artist is burgeoning.
I've finally cut the ties with the band...I'm even questioning my role
as a performing artist. [ouch!]  I have lots of ideas for plays and
musicals that I want to pursue.  And the way this version of 'Tommy'
has worked out, it makes me think there's hope for some of the pieces
I wrote for the Who that nearly worked but didn't - things like 'Rael',
'A Quick One (While He's Away)' and 'Quadraphenia'.  Maybe I should try
them again".

[Pete heads off to go meet with the band]  "I'm just come to give 'em
a pep talk".

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   Paul Stevens                        {apple|decwrl}!metaphor!pstevens
   Metaphor Computer Systems           pstevens@metaphor.com
   Mountain View, CA