Revisiting The Who's Tommy

[EvanstonDad]

Listening to the Broadway cast album of The Who's Tommy after not having heard it for quite some time, and am reminded how it totally blows the lid off the joint. I saw the tour when it came through Chicago, and despite awful sound, being booked in a barn of a theater (the Auditorium), and having terrible seats, to this day I can remember how stunningly the whole thing was staged. Anyone else see the original production and what are your thoughts on it and the recording?

[yankeefan7]

Saw the show on Broadway and loved it, led the way into having "rock" on Broadway. This was also much better than the movie IMO. 

[onesongglory2]

Love Tommy! It was the first show I saw on Broadway.

[Mister Matt]

led the way into having "rock" on Broadway.

How????  By the time it opened, "rock" had been on Broadway for over 30 years.

Saw the Broadway production and the tour and loved everything  about it.  I wish the 2013 Stratford Festival production would come in for a revival.  

[yankeefan7]

"How????  By the time it opened, "rock" had been on Broadway for over 30 years."

 

Guess it depends on your definition of "rock". "Tommy" is much more "rock" than something like "Hair" IMO. Shows like "American Idiot" and "Spring Awakening" are more in the "Tommy" mode of music than "Hair".

[IdinaBellFoster]

I adore this show and would love to see it revived. Alice Ripley must play Mrs. Walker!

[Wee Thomas2]

yankeefan7 said: "Saw the show on Broadway and loved it, led the way into having "rock" on Broadway. This was also much better than the movie IMO. 

 

"

The movie was rubbish.

[dramamama611]

This was another show that I didn't expect to like and then get up falling in love with. I'd love to see a Revival of this. Who ever mentioned Alice Ripley was spot-on.

[smidge]

IdinaBellFoster said: "I adore this show and would love to see it revived. Alice Ripley must play Mrs. Walker!

I think I did see Alice Ripley as Mrs. Walker. She was an understudy in the original production. 

 

[smidge]

Also, I think Andy Mientus posted a wishful tweet about a Deaf West production. That would be perfect.

[LYLS3637]

How I'm dying for a revival of this... I think it would be awesome to see Cerveris as Uncle Ernie.

 

I feel like, if anything, they had to almost stifle the edgier rock sound when the show came out. Now, they could honestly make it sound like a full-fledged rock concert ala Rent or American Idiot or Next to Normal. 

[Mister Matt]

Guess it depends on your definition of "rock". "Tommy" is much more "rock" than something like "Hair" IMO.

That's less about the definition than it is about personal taste and perspective.  Rock is defined by the era in which it was composed, which is why Bye Bye Birdie is generally considered the musical that introduced "rock" (or "rock and roll" as it was known at the time) to the Broadway score.  Hair, Godspell, Rocky Horror and Jesus Christ Superstar may sound less edgy than Tommy at times, but they certainly fall under the definition.  As do Rockabye Hamlet, Soon and Dude.

[Taryn]

I'd love to see a version with the rock aspect really embraced.  I know that Pete Townsend really wanted to tone it down for Broadway.

A Deaf West production would be amazing holy ****.

[Islander_fan]

I have been and will continue to be a major life long fan of The Who. I remember reading somewhere that Roger Daltrey liked the show, but I believe he called the orchestrations "Who Lite" in terms of sound. Something that I fully agree with. As for the movie, it was directed by Ken Russell so no surprise that it was very trippy for lack of a better term. 

I have worked on this show when working at a local theatre, I was on crew, but they knew that I am a drummer and needed me to fill in for a show. Was given the binder for the drum sheet music. But, since I can't read music and learned how to play the drum parts by listening to the original album and breaking it down on my own, that's what I did. The music director was thrilled that I could do that. We then talked about how the music given out to amateur productions is a dumbed down version of what was originally done when the album came out in '69. Hopefully now that shows like American Idiot haven't done that, if it's revived  (and I hope it is) we get more of the faster and livelier tempo that's more akin to the original album. 

[Mr. Nowack]

I was just watching the movie a few weeks ago and thinking about the show. I think I read once that Townshend wasn't happy wth the alterations made for it, is that why they weren't used in the stage show (even where alterations were made compared to the album)?

I honestly can't listen to the OBC album because to me it sounds very lifeless. Toned down sounds exactly right. The movie may have toned it up a bit TOO much but its better than blandifying it.

A local college is doing it here in Pittsburgh soon and that will be my first encounter seeing the show.

[uncageg]

Saw the tour in Denver. It was stunning.

[DrMike]

Has there been any rumbling about a new tour?  I am a subscriber to the Broadway in Atlanta series and ever year the powers that be send out a subscriber survey.  It asks that you rate interest in a list of shows.  Most of the shows listed are current Broadway productions, but there are also several other shows that sound to be "in the works."  This past survey included Tommy.  I would love to see a new production, considering how much the technical toolbox for designers has changed in the intervening years.

[yankeefan7]

"That's less about the definition than it is about personal taste and perspective.  Rock is defined by the era in which it was composed, which is why Bye Bye Birdie is generally considered the musical that introduced "rock" (or "rock and roll" as it was known at the time) to the Broadway score.  Hair, Godspell, Rocky Horror and Jesus Christ Superstar may sound less edgy than Tommy at times, but they certainly fall under the definition.That's less about the definition than it is about personal taste and perspective.  Rock is defined by the era in which it was composed, which is why Bye Bye Birdie is generally considered the musical that introduced "rock" (or "rock and roll" as it was known at the time) to the Broadway score.  Hair, Godspell, Rocky Horror and Jesus Christ Superstar may sound less edgy than Tommy at times, but they certainly fall under the definition."

 

Ok, good point.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Maybe I'm the odd man out, but I've always loved Ken Russell's surreal weirdness. That movie was a magnificent head trip, although I will add that, having purchased a Xerox of the screenplay on eBay, I understand the film a lot better reading it than an initial viewing would have done.

I have a massive fondness for the film's orchestrations as well. Maybe not the over-use of synth, but the expansion of Townshend's vision from what was possible for The Who in the studio. I lament to this day, for example, that the full jam of "Acid Queen" is not on the official movie soundtrack; repetitive though it may prove when listening to the audio sans image, I just love the sound of the band playing like their lives are on the line.

[MichelleCraig]

I loved it on Broadway. The sounds of sirens on the cast album almost caused me to have an accident on the freeway upon first listen in my car...

[Islander_fan]

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "Maybe I'm the odd man out, but I've always loved Ken Russell's surreal weirdness. That movie was a magnificent head trip, although I will add that, having purchased a Xerox of the screenplay on eBay, I understand the film a lot better reading it than an initial viewing would have done.

I have a massive fondness for the film's orchestrations as well. Maybe not the over-use of synth, but the expansion of Townshend's vision from what was possible for The Who in the studio. I lament to this day, for example, that the full jam of "Acid Queen" is not on the official movie soundtrack; repetitive though it may prove when listening to the audio sans image, I just love the sound of the band playing like their lives are on the line.

I found an article a good while back that was talking about great rock movies. The two that they mentioned were Tommy and the film version of Pink Floyd's The Wall. The writer of the article stated that The Wall is best watched either stoned or at least with the volume turned up (preferably both.) But, with Tommy, considering that the imagery in the film is pretty damn trippy to say the least, if watching it while stoned it would cause for a bad trip. I can agree with that statement. 

I think that Tommy is a work of genius. Not only was it the first rock opera ever, it was one that was applauded by well knowns in various musical fields. For what it's worth, Leonard Bernstein was the music director of the NY Philharmonic when the album came, out and sang it's praise on high. But, with all that, I feel that Townshend did way to much mucking about with it for the stage. He gave the green light to move around songs saying that "they are in no sacred order." As well as completely altering the ending of the work from how it originally ended on the album. 

 

[Steve C.]

The Playbill vault says Michael Cerveris played Tommy in the 1993 production. This is from the 1993 Tony Awards. He must have been a dynamite Tommy. That production also looks incredible. Hopefully it was filmed for ...whatever??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUa6_m5WwSE

[AEA AGMA SM]

There was a documentary released in 1993 alongside the opening of the Broadway production that traced the history of Tommy from album, to staged concert, to film, to Broadway. It had a lot of footage from the Broadway production in it, but as far as I know it has never been released to DVD (I used to own a copy on VHS). 

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126729/