© The Boston Globe April 16, 1999 A Toned-down 'Tommy' Can Still Thrill by Jim Sullivan
It was 30 years ago that Pete Townshend gave birth to "Tommy," his rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy's journey from ostracism through heroism as a pinball star, up to the level of messiahdom and a subsequent conscience-clearing crash. "Tommy" has since had many lives beyond its initial double-album conception, including, most spectacularly, a hit run on Broadway and a sackful of Tony Awards. Because of this, Townshend and the Who's singer Roger Daltrey have this ongoing spat about rock and theater. Daltrey loathed the idea of "Tommy" on Broadway, with Townshend rewriting bits of it, perking it up, and adding bells and whistles. Mostly, he hated what he perceived as the inherent artificiality. Townshend's response: Bollocks. Grow up and get over it; don't behave as if rock 'n' roll is somehow pure, untainted by choreography and stagecraft. "Tommy" lives again and is beginning a national tour at the Colonial Theatre this week. It's a production that would probably make Daltrey a tad happier while meeting Townshend's revisionist standards. It does not feature the gaudy, whiz-bang effects of the Broadway show and its subsequent road tour. This is a good thing, as it allows us to focus on the music - splendid still - and the narrative, clearer than it used to be, but still a bit muddled. ("Tommy" has always been on the abstract side of the fence.) There are four levels of staging (the top one for the workmanlike seven-piece band, including conductor/keyboardist Scot Woolley) and eight steel, erector-set-like girders frame the stage. Most of the actors dress in black, although Tommy as a young man (played by Michael Seelbach) and Tommy as a boy (played by Ross Ramone) are in white. (Ramone is perfect as a placid, blank child.) This gives "Tommy" a stark, angular look. Even the pinball machines are joined steel frames - don't need no buzzers and bells. Projected images are used on a scrim early in the production to help explain the action - the courtship of the duo who will become Tommy's parents; he, Captain Walker, being shot down during World War II and being given up for dead; her subsequent decision to take another lover. Captain Walker comes back, kills the lover while Tommy watches, shocking his system, shutting down his senses of sight, sound, and speech. Tommy's trek begins. This "Tommy" has some grit, but it is a relatively chirpy, happy, cushy affair - fun for the whole darn family. This rewritten version explains a bit more through dialogue and does things like drop the phrase "gonna rape you" from "We're Not Gonna Take It." Even the rough guys are nicer. Mrs. Walker (Lisa Capps) is not demented or conniving. Even the evil duo of Uncle Ernie (Paul Dobie, who looks a lot like the Townshend of today) and Cousin Kevin (Michael Gruber, in a Billy Idol guise) can be understood. Ernie is a pedophile, but that may because he's an alcoholic. Kevin may be a bully, but he's got spikey charm. This "Tommy" stresses forgiveness over strife, especially at the "Finale," when the whole cast is out for the "Listening to you . . . " refrain and both Tommys hug those who've wronged them. Swell. The band could rock harder, though at least they're presented as a band and not buried in an orchestra pit. Seelbach sings well, albeit without Daltrey's histrionics, and music still brings chills in "Sensation," "I'm Free" and, however gooey it is now, the "Finale." One of the themes - think for yourself, don't trust trumped-up would-be messiahs - remains as pertinent as ever.

It was 30 years ago that Pete Townshend gave birth to "Tommy," his rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy's journey from ostracism through heroism as a pinball star, up to the level of messiahdom and a subsequent conscience-clearing crash. "Tommy" has since had many lives beyond its initial double-album conception, including, most spectacularly, a hit run on Broadway and a sackful of Tony Awards. Because of this, Townshend and the Who's singer Roger Daltrey have this ongoing spat about rock and theater. Daltrey loathed the idea of "Tommy" on Broadway, with Townshend rewriting bits of it, perking it up, and adding bells and whistles. Mostly, he hated what he perceived as the inherent artificiality. Townshend's response: Bollocks. Grow up and get over it; don't behave as if rock 'n' roll is somehow pure, untainted by choreography and stagecraft.

"Tommy" lives again and is beginning a national tour at the Colonial Theatre this week. It's a production that would probably make Daltrey a tad happier while meeting Townshend's revisionist standards. It does not feature the gaudy, whiz-bang effects of the Broadway show and its subsequent road tour. This is a good thing, as it allows us to focus on the music - splendid still - and the narrative, clearer than it used to be, but still a bit muddled. ("Tommy" has always been on the abstract side of the fence.) There are four levels of staging (the top one for the workmanlike seven-piece band, including conductor/keyboardist Scot Woolley) and eight steel, erector-set-like girders frame the stage. Most of the actors dress in black, although Tommy as a young man (played by Michael Seelbach) and Tommy as a boy (played by Ross Ramone) are in white. (Ramone is perfect as a placid, blank child.) This gives "Tommy" a stark, angular look. Even the pinball machines are joined steel frames - don't need no buzzers and bells.

Projected images are used on a scrim early in the production to help explain the action - the courtship of the duo who will become Tommy's parents; he, Captain Walker, being shot down during World War II and being given up for dead; her subsequent decision to take another lover. Captain Walker comes back, kills the lover while Tommy watches, shocking his system, shutting down his senses of sight, sound, and speech. Tommy's trek begins.

This "Tommy" has some grit, but it is a relatively chirpy, happy, cushy affair - fun for the whole darn family. This rewritten version explains a bit more through dialogue and does things like drop the phrase "gonna rape you" from "We're Not Gonna Take It." Even the rough guys are nicer. Mrs. Walker (Lisa Capps) is not demented or conniving. Even the evil duo of Uncle Ernie (Paul Dobie, who looks a lot like the Townshend of today) and Cousin Kevin (Michael Gruber, in a Billy Idol guise) can be understood. Ernie is a pedophile, but that may because he's an alcoholic. Kevin may be a bully, but he's got spikey charm. This "Tommy" stresses forgiveness over strife, especially at the "Finale," when the whole cast is out for the "Listening to you . . . " refrain and both Tommys hug those who've wronged them. Swell.

The band could rock harder, though at least they're presented as a band and not buried in an orchestra pit. Seelbach sings well, albeit without Daltrey's histrionics, and music still brings chills in "Sensation," "I'm Free" and, however gooey it is now, the "Finale." One of the themes - think for yourself, don't trust trumped-up would-be messiahs - remains as pertinent as ever.

main Tommy page