Susan Granger’s review of “The Who’s Tommy” (Nederlander Theater)
One wonders: just how often is “The Who’s Tommy” going to come back?
I’m old enough to remember guitarist Pete Townshend’s 1969 landmark concept album. As years passed, the rock opera morphed into a ballet, a symphony and Ken Russell’s 1975 psychedelic movie. As if that wasn’t enough, director Des McAnuff teamed with Pete Townshend to turn it into a high-flying hit Broadway musical in 1993, blasting the eardrums of anyone who hadn’t thought to buy ear plugs.
Now – 30 years later – it’s back again!
Set in England just after W.W. II, the book follows the surreal journey of four-year-old Tommy Walker (played at alternating performances by Cecilia Ann Popp and Olive Ross-Kline) who is traumatized after seeing his PSD-afflicted father (Adam Jacobs) shoot his mother’s (Alison Luff) lover. When his parents realize Tommy was there, they swear him to secrecy, insisting: “You didn’t hear it/You didn’t see it/You won’t say anything to no one/Never in your life!”
So Tommy shuts off his senses, appearing to be deaf, mute and blind. As years pass, vulnerable Tommy (Quinten Kusheba, alternating with Reese Levine) suffers additional abuse, including sexual assault by his pedophile, beer-swilling Uncle Ernie (John Ambrosino) and brutal bullying by his sadistic Cousin Kevin (Bobby Conte).
Then there’s the seductive Acid Queen (Christina Sajous) with her hallucinogenic stash….and Tommy’s bizarre fixation with a mirror, cueing Alison Luff’s “Smash the Mirror” showstopper.
Yet, miraculously – in the second act – grown Tommy (Ali Louis Bourzgui) becomes a messianic whiz at pinball, signaling the possibility of regeneration and rock celebrity/stardom.
This colder, harsher version is quite different from previous incarnations. Tommy doesn’t soar (literally) since the flying has been eliminated and the string quartet, which was part of the orchestrations, has also been discarded.
Instead, there’s sensory overload with Peter Nigrini’s projections, including live video, and Amanda Zieve’s kaleidoscopic lighting – which tend to be quite overwhelming atop David Korins’ spare, shape-shifting set. Serafina Bush’s costumes appear unimaginative, as is Lorin Latarro’s humdrum choreography.
All of which made me yearn to revisit Ken Russell’s cinematic adaptation – with The Who’s lead singer Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Ann-Margret & Oliver Reed as his parents and myriad cameos from Elton John, Jack Nicholson and Tina Turner.