THE WHO'S TOMMY Will Return to Broadway in 2021

[ForB4]

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/197322/the-whos-tommy-will-return-to-broadway-in-2021/

[LYLS3637]

"Our new production of Tommy will be a reinvention aimed directly at today," said director Des McAnuff. "Tommy combines myth and spectacle in a way that truly soars. The key question with any musical is "Does the story sing?" and this one most certainly does. Tommy is the anti-hero ground zero. He is the boy who not only rejects adulthood like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, but existence itself. He becomes lost in the universe as he stares endlessly and obsessively into the mirror at his own image. This gives our story a powerful resonance today as it seems like the whole world is staring into the black mirror. The story of Tommy exists all too comfortably in the 21st Century. In fact, time may finally have caught up to Tommy."

 

Since the onslaught of everything Kardashian, going viral, and becoming famous for using social media, I was hoping we'd see this show again!

[Wick3]

In terms of casting I hope Alex Brightman will audition for this show!

[little_sally]

I'd love to see Andrew Polec in this.

[JSquared2]

little_sally said: "I'd love to see Andrew Polec in this."

Great choice!  I'd also love to see Rachel Bay Jones as Mrs. Walker.

 

[Observation]

Please keep Andy Mientus as far away from this as possible. 

[WldKingdomHM]

Observation said: "Please keep Andy Mientus as far away from this as possible."

Agree and one tone Wesley Taylor

[FANtomFollies]

I'm only vaguely familiar with Andy Mientus - in all seriousness - where is the hate from?

[yankeefan7]

Saw it the first time and hope this revival is equally as good !!

[jagman1062]

yankeefan7 said: "Saw it the first time and hope this revival is equally as good !!"

I agree!  I saw it a few times in the original run and thought it was phenomenal.  I remember lines of people extending around 8th Ave.  It will be interesting to see the 21st Century take on the show.  The music is classic. 

 

 

 

[Sauja]

The original gave us the Broadway debuts of Michael Cerveris, Sherie Rene Scott, Alice Ripley, and Norm Lewis. It was also the first show I ever saw on Broadway. I don’t have isn’t great deas for who should be in the revival, but I already feel hugely nostalgic and excited.

[Valentina3]

This is Reeve Carney's role to lose. Hope his agents have him lined up for it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Valentina3 said: "This is Reeve Carney's role to lose. Hope his agents have him lined up for it."

Now I’m going to be bummed if it isn’t Reeve.

[Clyde15]

FANtomFollies said: "I'm only vaguely familiar with Andy Mientus - in all seriousness - where is the hate from?"

Having seen the production of Whos Tommy he did in Denver it was... not good... to say the least. It sounded like he was straining the entire show and the direction left much to be desired 

[uncageg]

Clyde15 said: "FANtomFollies said: "I'm only vaguely familiar with Andy Mientus - in all seriousness - where is the hate from?"

Having seen the production of Whos Tommy he did in Denver it was... not good... to say the least. It sounded like he was straining the entire show and the direction left much to be desired"

Was this the production at the Theater Company?

I saw the 1st National Tour of the Broadway production and it was incredible.

 

[Clyde15]

uncageg said: "Clyde15 said: "FANtomFollies said: "I'm only vaguely familiar with Andy Mientus - in all seriousness - where is the hate from?"

Having seen the production of Whos Tommy he did in Denver it was... not good... to say the least. It sounded like he was straining the entire show and the direction left much to be desired"

Was this the production at the Theater Company?

I saw the 1st National Tour of the Broadway production and it was incredible.

"

It was a regional production at Denver Center of the Performing Arts celebrating (I think) the 25th Anniversary of the show two years ago. The DCPA does some incredible and with such big names involved in the cast and production team they seemed to hint about broadway at the time but it was a rough show

[GreasedLightning]

CATSNYrevival said: "Valentina3 said: "This is Reeve Carney's role to lose. Hope his agents have him lined up for it."

Now I’m going to be bummed if it isn’t Reeve."

*Insert “I would like to see it” gif here*

[Call_me_jorge]

GreasedLightning said: "CATSNYrevival said: "Valentina3 said: "This is Reeve Carney's role to lose. Hope his agents have him lined up for it."

Now I’m going to be bummed if it isn’t Reeve."

*Insert “I would like to see it”gif here*"

Quoting this just make sure whoever the producers are know this is what the people deserve

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

McAnuff did a revival not too long ago up north at his Stratford Festival that was basically the same show as '93, but the production values were updated with a little assist from more current technology. If he took an "ain't broke, don't fix it, just tweak it" approach to that, in spite of his statements, I can't imagine this will be much different, which is a shame. I'd like to see more of a reinvention.

Among other things I'd like to see changed, I don't like some of the choices he and Pete Townshend made with the book. I kind of think they were trying to cut the cloth to fit then-current fashion, and it could be more daring today. (After reading his autobiography, Who I Am, this made more sense; Pete seems to have developed the musical at a time in the early Nineties when he was in a very rough head space and really not prepared to be giving such a project the level of thought it deserves.)

For one thing, I hate that there's a stage direction where Tommy hugs Uncle Ernie and forgives the character, and even in 1993 I don't see how the hell people accepted that.

More than that, nearly the entire storyline turned from traumatic (but formative) experiences into a ****tease of same. Everything is blunted or toned down except for the abuse at his cousin's and uncle's hands. 

Like, at least in the movie, for example, the Acid Queen (or the Gypsy, as the stage show called her; I'm almost positive they'll go back to Acid Queen now that the term Gypsy is verboten unless it's a revival of, well, Gypsy) actually does something to him. In the musical, it's all "Look what I'll do to him" and then, after Captain Walker went to the trouble of letting her pimp take him (and his disabled kid!) to see her, he decides at the last second "you know what, letting a hooker give my son drugs and do God knows what else is not a great idea." So, unlike Tina Turner's fantastic performance in the movie which conveys the same horror from Tommy actually having gone through something, it's a wet dish-rag of a scene.

And more than that, the ending... in addition to Tommy arbitrarily forgiving everybody... they changed the whole point of the story and not for the better. On the original album and in the film, the message was that superstardom ain't what it's cracked up to be. JCS, which followed, was very much influenced by "Messiah Tommy" and his fall from ego and hubris. You lose that when you decide to have him say "...excuse me? No, I didn't intend to be a star, you made me that way, I want to be like you." If that was true, a significant chunk of the second act would never have occurred or it might have been indicated in any way before Sally asked her "question."

Bottom line: after reading Ken Russell's screenplay (not hard to find these days), my immediate impression was "...you know, if you take out all the typically Ken Russell pseudo-O'Horgan imagery, this is a solid book for a musical. Why did they change it?" I actually wish the show had just tightened up the movie's plot a bit more.

Getting away from the book, which I'm (to say the least) not a fan of, the music had a similarly blunted impact. The orchestrations of this show took all the bite out of the music; The Who performing the score live was when its sound really thrived, or, say, Tina Turner's performance of "Acid Queen" in the movie where the band totally rocks the joint with an extended jam section (not heard on the soundtrack). The rock elements of the show, which work the best elsewhere, were not well served on Broadway.

My two cents, ultimately? I think, for Tommy to fully reach the potential of the material, the show would have to be re-worked from scratch. And I'm not confident Des would do that.

[uncageg]

Clyde15 said: "uncageg said: "Clyde15 said: "FANtomFollies said: "I'm only vaguely familiar with Andy Mientus - in all seriousness - where is the hate from?"

Having seen the production of Whos Tommy he did in Denver it was... not good... to say the least. It sounded like he was straining the entire show and the direction left much to be desired"

Was this the production at the Theater Company?

I saw the 1st National Tour of the Broadway production and it was incredible.

"

It was a regional production at Denver Center of the Performing Arts celebrating (I think) the 25th Anniversary of the show two years ago. The DCPA does some incredible and with such big names involved in the cast and production team they seemed to hint about broadway at the time but it was a rough show"

 

So it was that Denver Center Theater Company Production. I am very familiar with the DCPA. Was very connected to it when I lived there for 19 years.

 

[Darren Pierce]

Wick3 said: "In terms of casting I hope Alex Brightman will audition for this show!"

I hope this happens and it gets the Winter Garden to keep the streak alive.

 

 

[SNAFU]

Didn't see the stage show but I grew up with the Rock Opera. Dtd they change the lyrics to Acid Queen? I remember her signing "I'm the Gypsy, the Acid Queen...."

 

[wish i were here2]

How was Casey Cott in the Kennedy Center production a few months ago? I could see him doing it on Broadway, but not sure if Riverdale taping schedule would not let him do it. 

[Marlothom]

I caught the Kennedy Center production and it was just blah - despite some of my favorite actors on stage.  Unlike the phenomenal Music Man production there, I think, Tommy needs the spectacle/effects that this version lacked.  Casey Cott was fine - was impressed by his musical theatre chops, but Reeve Carney would be phenomenal.   

[RumTumJM]

I am SUPER excited about this!

As someone who grew up a theater geek, changed focus to rock music in high school & now is starting to embrace theater, again, this is RIGHT up my alley.

I, actually, was just recently digging into the Tommy album in a way I hadn't before. I, no joke, found myself saying, "This is just like modern day internet celebrities".