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The tale of Tommy Walker is reimagined for a new generation of theatre lovers.
(Above) The cast of Tommy creates a human pinball machine. Photo by Liz Lauren. (Click on images to view larger versions.) 20-Jul-23 – The Who’s Tommy, the epic pop culture musical that revolutionized theatre, has just been extended at Goodman Theatre for the second time, playing now through August 6. The Who guitarist Pete Townshend (music, lyrics, book), who composed the 1969 rock opera, and original director Des McAnuff (book), team up again to tell the reimagined tale of Tommy Walker. McAnuff originated the Tony Award-winning show on Broadway in 1993, but Tommy comes to the Goodman with a fresh, new approach. The world has changed since 1969, but the music from the original album remains classic.
Adding to the fun, the Goodman has lined up a pop-up pinball arcade in the lobby for audience members to try their hand at becoming their own “pinball wizards.” After witnessing his father shoot his rival, young Tommy Walker becomes lost in the universe, obsessively staring into the mirror. An innate knack for pinball turns him from a shy adolescent to a celebrity superstar. “I’m excited about The Who’s ‘Tommy’ in Chicago, which has always been a special place for me,” said Townshend in a press release. His numerous awards for The Who’s Tommy include a Grammy Award in 1993 and a Tony Award in 1993 for Best Score.
McAnuff and Townshend began working on a screenplay for Tommy and realized that the themes of bullying and abuse have become more meaningful now. With a better understanding today of these themes, compared to 50 years ago, McAnuff says there was a need to redo the show. “While the music remains as glorious as ever, our world years later is unimaginably and irrevocably changed,” said McAnuff while walking his dog in New York. “As a result, there’s so much more we all can celebrate in our protagonist’s evolution. A deeper understanding of mental health has sharpened our lens.” Born in Illinois, McAnuff was thrilled to work in Chicago for three months. “Although I was busy staging the show and didn’t get to experience as many of Chicago’s rich shows as I would have liked, I found my colleagues in the theatre community very supportive of what we were doing with ‘Tommy,’” he said.
Townshend’s trip to Chicago did not go as planned. His flight from London was cancelled, and when he arrived the next day, his wife came down with COVID and they were both quarantined. According to McAnuff, Townshend will be back to see a performance of Tommy. The stage is filled with a cast of 29, a mix of talented actors from Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and other cities, and they are the real storytellers. A nine-piece band accompanies them, performing the Tony-award winning songs from The Who’s exhilarating 1969 rock concept album. As the adult Tommy Walker, Ali Louis Bourzgui conveys a range of emotions as he goes from that “deaf, dumb, and blind kid” to rejoining the world and becoming an icon. During his transformation, he never loses sight of his humanity, and it shines through. Young Tommy is played at age 4 and age 10 by Ava Rose Doty, Annabel Finch, Presley Rose Jones, and Ezekiel Ruiz. They are standouts in a highly challenging role.
Adam Jacob has an exquisite voice and plays Tommy’s father while Alison Luff is his long-suffering mother who would do anything to cure her son. Joining them are John Ambrosino as creepy Uncle Ernie and Bobby Conte as Cousin Kevin. Christina Sajous as the Acid Queen, mirroring a performance like Tina Turner, is sensational. Set design by David Korins, lighting design by Amanda Zieve, and sound design by Gareth Owen all come together to create a powerful environment for the story. What’s ultimately changed since the show was first launched is the integration of technology, both visually and acoustically, that takes the performance into the stratosphere. “I have a rich paint box to use, like robotic lighting, light emitting diodes, color scrollers, projectors, sound effects, and lasers,” boasts McAnuff. “Choosing what pyrotechnics not to use is more the challenge. We never want it to get in the way of the story.” But it’s the high-energy, over-the-top dancing, created by award-winning choreographer Lorin Latarro that really brings Tommy to life. “I’m interested in pushing story inside the dances and still building to dance breaks that have high velocity,” says Latarro. Slow, deliberate movements carry the story forward. Just being in the audience, you have to catch your breath. With pulsating, projected lighting, and frenetic music spinning, the audience feels the power of being inside a pinball machine. Perhaps the most powerful scene is at the end of the show when all of the characters slowly emerge in a line, their voices rising in a crescendo... Listening to you, I get the music And you feel you have just experienced something truly extraordinary. More info & tickets: The Who’s Tommy |
