‘The Who’s Tommy’: A dark disappointment

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: Alison Luff, Olive Ross-Kline & Adam Jacobs. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

THE WHO’S TOMMY
Music & lyrics by Pete Townshend
Book by Pete Townshend & Des McAnuff
Choreography by Lorin Latarro
Directed by Des McAnuff
Nederlander Theatre
208 W 41st St
https://tommythemusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

Loosely based on the 1969 concept album, the 1993 Broadway adaptation of The Who’s Tommy by Pete Townshend and director Des McAnuff was a smash hit in New York, London and Toronto. This revival 31 years later arrives with great expectations and pedigree but leaves us with more questions than anything else.

Case in point: Why is the overture set in “The Future,” with cast members sporting dark masks as if in some demented 1980s music video? For those unfamiliar with the story, The Who’s Tommy is about a “deaf, dumb and blind kid” who experiences a series of traumas, but the family dysfunction starts long before the poor boy is even born. The story then opens in London in 1940 with the marriage of his parents, the Walkers. Next, we see Tommy’s future father Captain Walker (Adam Jacobs) parachuting into Nazi Germany where he is captured as a prisoner of war. Across the North Sea in England, the captain’s brother Ernie (John Ambrosino) delivers a package to pregnant Mrs. Walker (Alison Luff). Military officers arrive to announce that her husband has disappeared and has most likely been killed by the Germans.

In the following scene, nurses hand Mrs. Walker newborn son Tommy. Soon it’s 1945 and the Allies have freed Captain Walker and the other POWs. The war might be over, but the family fireworks are just beginning. Mrs. Walker is celebrating her 21^st birthday with her newfound boyfriend and four-year-old Tommy. When Captain Walker finally comes home to his estranged wife and sees what’s happening, Tommy witnesses a violent act that will traumatize him for many years.

This is a convoluted story indeed, but since Tommy is a musical based on the quintessential “rock opera,” one should be able to overlook the scattershot narrative and just enjoy the famous score, right? Unfortunately, this production is full of dark lighting, murky imagery and muffled sound, so hearing song lyrics in garbled tones is frustrating for audiences. Is it the microphones? Whatever the case, director Des McAnuff chose to showcase gimmicky projections, a “high tech” set and Lorin Latarro’s uninspired choreography more than the show’s famous songbook.

One of the most iconic scenes in Tommy features the Acid Queen who is supposed to be a funky prostitute who introduces Tommy to sex and drugs. In the film, she was played with spunk and sass by the late Tina Turner. Now, on Broadway, “Acid Queen”—as performed by Christina Sajous—is dull, listless, pointless and a throwaway number.

Don’t try too hard making much sense of the rest of the musical. He endures a lot of abuse along the way from his alcoholic pedophile Uncle Ernie and his sadistic, bullying Cousin Kevin (Bobby Conte). Kevin and friends take Tommy to a local amusement arcade in England where he develops an obsession with playing pinball machines. Tommy becomes a “Pinball Wizard” (as the famous 1970s rock song points out), with much encouragement and adulation from teenage spectators. After much fanfare in the British tabloids on Fleet Street and on the BBC, Tommy is hailed as a cult figure with a legion of devoted fans. Ali Louis Bourzgui plays Tommy on one note and lacks the charisma to make him believable.

The best performances here include Alison Luff as Mrs. Walker. Ms. Luff approaches the character with the right amount of vulnerability, and her vocals always shine. The two child actors portraying Tommy (Olive Ross-Kline as four-year-old Tommy and Reese Levine as 10-year-old Tommy) are also amazingly effective, displaying all the horror and trauma the young lad experiences.

This particular revival is so excessive and confusing that it will mostly satisfy the old die-hard Who and Tommy fans.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 4, 2024
Reviewed at April 2, 2024 press performance

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: Adam Jacobs, Daniel Quadrino, Alison Luff, Olive Ross-Kline & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: Bobby Conte & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: Christina Sajous. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: (Left to right) John Ambrosino, Bobby Conte, Ali Louis Bourzgui, Alison Luff & Adam Jacobs. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘THE WHO’S TOMMY’: Ali Louis Bourzgui. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.