THE WHO’S TOMMY Broadway Previews- Page 8

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

Posted: 4/5/24 at 9:50pm

ErikJ972 said: "Jmuep2 said: "I think the young Tommy portion of the original production was set during World War 1. The cast album had a song "1921" that seemsto have been updated.



CJRochester said: "dramamama611 said: "The setting has always been WWII; if for no other reason than the pinball machine wasn't around till the early 30s"

Thanks, I must have been thinking of the original album, which did start during WWI. Still there’s a difference in the timeline in that the current show runsinto the 1980s, where the original production went into the 60s. That means Tommy has spent many more years as an idol before his change of heart at the end. The score has never been clear whether his time as an idol lasts for days, years, or decades."

"

There is no song called "1921" on the original cast album. There is a song called "21" that is about turning 21, not the year 1921.

"Got a feeling 21 is going to be a good year, especially if you and me see it in together. Now you're 21 you're ready for a new year. Let's marry now and celebrate forever"

From what I remember from the original production it begins in WWII."

They're referring to the original concept album from 1969, where the story does indeed begin with 1921. It was updated to 1951 to match the move to WW2 for the movie, and then back to 21 for the musical, where it was retconned to be about Mrs. Walker's 21st.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 4/5/24 at 11:02pm

Just saw this tonight. Really enjoyed it, I love a good rock opera. Very moving performances by Alison Luff, Adam Jacobs, and Ali Louis Bourzgui. Everyone sounded great, fab choreography, fab show. I was impressed with how large the cast is. There were definitely some empty seats in the mezz, i won the lottery and was on the far side of the mezz which is really bad at the Nederlander so i moved towards the center for act 2. I feel like much of the audience were fans of The Who as they seemed to know the music.  It’s shorter than 2.5 hours.  Performance started at 7, we were out by 9:15.  I’d recommend it, go see it!

Updated On: 4/5/24 at 11:02 PM

[Dreamboy3]

Posted: 4/6/24 at 8:49am

I thought this was awful. And  I loved the original and I grew up listening to The Who. Lots of empty seats in the balcony for a Friday night (maybe it was half full). The show was heavily sanitized. The sexual abuse was vague and it seemed Mr. walker pulled Tommy back from having sex with the acid queen?  As others have noted, the sets were cheap and the stage felt empty. The song “21” was so confusing because Mrs Walker seemed so much older. And the choreography was the worst I’ve seen in a long time. I felt so bad for the dancers. The orchestrations were horrible - none of the songs sounded as good as I’ve heard them. And the tempo of the songs was slow - I assume to make the lyrics audible?  None of the performances left an impression, especially the Acid Queen, but my guess is that that may have been the fault of the director and not the performer. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 4/6/24 at 10:21am

Yeah it seemed like the dad didn’t know he was paying for the kid to have sex with her, and they ran out of there.  Why was there a flying chair?  I totally disagree with your assessment of the show. I have never seen a production of this before and thought it was quite moving.  21 wasn’t confusing because there was a birthday cake right there and the lyrics say she’s turning 21.  The choreography was the worst you’ve seen?  Were we watching the same show?  I thought it was very good. 

[yyys]

Posted: 4/7/24 at 9:37am

I am betting that Tommy will get a Tony nomination for Best Choreography (among other things). Sweeney Todd did and I thought that choreography was awful and undeserved.

[Chuck Lawrence]

Posted: 4/7/24 at 11:15pm

Terrible production. Perhaps it’s best to leave the singing/dancing stormtroopers to Mel Brooks.

[rburton66]

Posted: 4/11/24 at 10:16pm

An utterly soulless production engineered for nostalgic, near-catatonic Boomers. I rewatched the movie recently, which has such raw intensity, while this is just blinding lights and bombast. Those awkward, pregnant pauses and the choppy vocals on “Pinball Wizard” will stay with me for a long while.
 

I sincerely hope this misses out on a Tony nom for Best Revival. 

[SondheimDancer97]

Posted: 4/12/24 at 2:28pm

Saw Tommy again last night. Holy moly blown away even more. Its physical storytelling is extraordinary. The dances are staged with such precision and ballistic energy. This score is legendary. Ali is so sexy. The audience was loving it and it felt like a rock concert. A swing was on and he was fantastic. You could see the company rally. I think this show is very special.  

[perfectliar]

Posted: 4/12/24 at 4:39pm

rburton66 said: "An utterly soulless productionengineered for nostalgic, near-catatonicBoomers. I rewatched the movie recently, which has such raw intensity, while this is justblinding lights and bombast. Those awkward, pregnant pauses and the choppy vocalson “Pinball Wizard” will stay with me for a long while.


I sincerely hope this misses out on a Tony nom for Best Revival."

Saw this earlier this week and couldn't agree more. "Soulless" is a very apt description. I thought the choreography was all flash with no sense of storytelling or ebb and flow, amd those WILD pauses made me feel like I was losing my mind. People weren't hitting notes the night I went, the performances by Captain and Mrs. Walker lacked spark, and the lyric changes in "Welcome" blunted the impact of that whole section of act two for me.

[always bway]

Posted: 4/13/24 at 11:23am

Saw this Tommy now four times and saw original twice.  Had to write. Loved it in Chicago but loved it even more here in NYC. I was a ballet dancer then an art major in college, so this show really hit both my sweet spots. The set is the kind of set that only really good directors/creatives can work with-The empty black box with white light. Kind of like chiaroscuro painting. So modernist. It was all like a dreamscape, like Mondrian meets Goya's black room. I don't think it even needed the projections, but I liked a lot of them- especially in Act Two when the projection are the live actors and then the later when the projections are multiplied actors when the kids turn against Tommy. I think what I love of course the big rock and roll dance numbers, but yes to the ballads and subtle staging and choreography in those moments. The ballads are where the emotion lived and I found it unexpected from what I thought was just going to be like a rock concert. And the little gestures: like when the mom hugs her son and his little arms fold away to the floor, and the way the actors are selling blackmarket sardines during the London WW2blitz, the creepy faceless  doppelgängers of Uncle Ernie crawl out, when the detectives come to the murder scene, everyone onstage is doing something specific then they go into unison dance for a second, then back to doing their own thing. It's in the detail. All this happens without words - Its like a post modern ballet. Alison Luff's acting is thrilling. She conveys heartbreak and motherly resolve with no words, just her eyes. Sitting close gives you all those details, but sitting further back (front mezzanine is thrilling), gives you a chance to see the big numbers as a whole. The big numbers like I Am A Sensation and PinBall Wizard are perfectly built- they grow then explode.  Those ensemble members are dancing such cool movement AND acting!  Like- they are still in the 'scene' while doing the big stuff. As characters. It is never like- oh watch us dance now-  But plenty of tricks and hard dancing. Very Twyla Tharp with a side of Jiri Kylian.  And I get it, sometimes Kinky Boots front and center performing in your face is fun, but this makes you sit forward and pay attention. I saw the original, but feels like this time around the director really went minimalist so the actors and story shine without the silly technicolor jackets. This felt like music forward, dance and acting forward version. The show holds up without a big set. A glitzy set gives you "Broadway" and "worth ticket price" but I think its a crutch and helps a lot of mediocre shows, hide behind set. Oh an the actor Ali Bourghsi who plays Tommy is gorgeous. His eyes are amazing  and his voice is so so good. I just love this show so much. I will go back again. Curious to sit real close next time like first three rows.

Updated On: 4/14/24 at 11:23 AM

[HunterK]

Posted: 4/13/24 at 11:21pm

I saw this production for the second time last night. After seeing the 1993 OBC (with Alice Ripley as Mrs. Walker) and then being a cast member of the German Tour, a lot of us, from all companies are disappointed. But I can only speak on my behalf. The score is brilliant and loud and everything it should be. So wonderful to hear it again in a theatre with a brilliant orchestra. I have some questions statements and questions below, please feel free to comment/ respond, would love your opinion. 

But Des McAnuff basically tried to remount the 1993 original production with updated LED screens (not projections), cheap lighting and I cannot believe 1 real pinball machine or scrim/projection of it. They fact that there was barely any animatronics put a lot on the cast and gave us these black masked movers to be unseen, but still had "white piping and zippers" on their costumes, they were never hidden. Bringing on Tommy and lifting him and The Acid Queen up broke every illusion. And the fact that when these face covered cast members brought out set pieces, they would wait for a "whoosh sound" and drastically leave them onstage...it was Harry Potter 101 with the capes. Very unoriginal. 

What was with the new "In the Future" element? Because we are never told what the masks/VR helmets are and before you know it, we are back 1941 (closer to where the original began). Then we speed from 1978 to "Into the Future" in 5 seconds flat. The future looks different than the entire show. The costumes are still dreary and drab, maybe a silver jacket and one girl has a selfie stick. The camera were always in every production. 

The costuming has zero color. If you want to make the future cold and dreary, fully get that, but everywhere else is the same way? Tommy is about color that he cannot see. All the Pinball Lads and Lasses in their distinct colors for Pinball Wizard and dancing on real pinball machines, not just shaking their arms. 

Why do the women in act 1 only have 1 wig. There's a girl that wears a blond ponytail wig through every character she is in act 1 and many more. She goes from swing dancer, to choir member to police officer to school girl to pinball lass all in the same wig. I can say that for at least 6-8 of the women. What happened to moving through time? 

If you "YouTube" the 1993 Tony Awards Performance or "Sensation from the OBC, just watch the 45 second dance break that was originally choreographed by Wayne Cilento. Then watch what Lorin Latarro gives this extremely talked dancers to perform. 75% the same. Same style, same moves. They extended it since previews and it is so remedial it is sad. What makes it work for new audiences is what the dancers are giving, their heart and soul and making it look amazing. Latarro does the same thing with the Act 2 finally, even worse. We are simulating a live pinball machine; she does the exact thing down to amount of turns and hand motions of the flippers. It was disheartening to watch and see no mention of Mr. Cilento in the playbill. None of the choreography was original. I understand the direction because Des started it and Des is going to finish it. 

What is with the Silver Masked people. First, I thought they were what young Tommy was seeing before he went into full blindness, but they just show up everywhere. 

It is just me or do the Pinball Lads and Lasses look like JetBlue Flight Attendants? I used to work for the company and remember it well. A gray, white and black pair of pants/skirt with a blazer that has a pop of orange. Some looking exactly the same. Use the 1960's with those amazing fashion trends to give us something truly different, not something drab with the only color pop that ensemble has seen all act.

The Acid Queen, can we please tweak her out some more. She is so tame looking and even her dress is pretty with that nice perfectly placed fabric in the middle. She is a junkie whore in the 1950's, doing anything to get her fix, even having sec with a young boy. She looked pretty and like she slept in a bed every night. Make her crazy as a loon. Look how Tina did it in the movie or Cheryl Freeman in the OBC (the entire run) were costumed and made up. Yes, Christine Anjous is in the ensemble (first time I have ever seen that) and may have less time, but The Acid Queen is one of the most memorable characters from the Album.

Lastly, the bows. That ensemble worked their butts off for over 2 hours and you are going to make them bow in a jammed together bow?? That says exactly how much. they are cared about and the importance of their roles. Give them their 10 seconds. Let them breath. You need to put The Acid Queen back in her costume for "Listening to You". The audience mostly doesn't recognize her. 

Ok, that’s my rant, but my heart will ever be with "The Who's Tommy." To see it morphed into something cheaper and less worth of excellence is a shame. For people you have never seen the first Broadway run, I am glad you enjoying what you are seeing and seeing this piece. The audience response has been crazy and bringing a brand-new audience to Broadway. But for us Gen X/Millennial/Boomer generations of Broadway, it disheartening you aren't seeing it at its best. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/15/24 at 8:51am

always bway said: "Sitting close gives you all those details, but sitting further back (front mezzanine is thrilling), gives you a chance to see the big numbers as a whole...I will go back again. Curious to sit real close next time like first three rows."

Are there any drawbacks to sitting close (first three rows of orchestra)? Is the stage high or is any actions staged where it would be difficult to see from that close?

[always bway]

Posted: 4/15/24 at 5:44pm

sitting close gives you access to the small specificity and the sweat! you can see it all. But sitting mid orch or front mezzanine gives you all the cool projections and big dances! 

[Lot666]

Posted: 4/16/24 at 8:31am

always bway said: "sitting close gives you access to the small specificity and the sweat! you can see it all. But sitting mid orch or front mezzanine gives you all the cool projections and big dances!"

Thanks - do I understand you correctly that sitting in the first few rows impairs one's view of the projections?

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 4/24/24 at 11:47am

I’m surprised there hasn’t been any news about a new cast recording for this production. Any word on this?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/24/24 at 12:59pm

Cast albums for this season are still being announced so it’s not too late. About the promo tracks. It’s not unusual for shows to record promo tracks but why would they do that if they plan to record a cast album in the coming days or weeks? Doesn’t make sense to me.