Broadway revival of The Who’s 'Tommy' is electrifying

By John Curley

The Who’s Tommy album from 1969, which was largely written by Pete Townshend with contributions from John Entwistle and Keith Moon and included a cover of Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Eyesight to the Blind,” has had many offshoots over the years. These include The Who’s live performances of it, an orchestrated version by the London Symphony Orchestra, a ballet, Ken Russell’s over-the-top 1975 film version that starred The Who’s Roger Daltrey in the title role and the 1993 Tony Award-winning Broadway stage production. Townshend and Director Des McAnuff wrote the book for the 1993 version.

Townshend and McAnuff have teamed again for a spectacular stage revival of The Who’s Tommy that, with the aid of modern technology, makes the 55-year-old ‘rock opera’ seem fresh and new. Prior to its transfer to Broadway, this production was first presented last year at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. The cast for this production is headed by Ali Louis Bourzgui in the title role, who delivers a star-making turn in his Broadway debut. Bourzgui portrays Tommy as an adult. At the performance that I attended, Tommy was played as a four-year-old by Cecilia Ann Popp and at age 10 by Quinten Kusheba. (Olive Ross-Kline as Tommy Age 4 and Reese Levine as Tommy Age 10 will be playing those roles in some of the other performances.) Bourzgui did a terrific job with the material, with standout performances on “Amazing Journey,” “Sensation,” “I’m Free” and “See Me, Feel Me” / “Listening to You.”

Following a brief bit set in a possible future that opens the show, the action shifts to London in 1941 in which the city is under bombardment by German forces and Tommy’s father, British soldier Captain Walker, goes missing in the war and is declared dead. Mrs. Walker gives birth to Tommy after hearing the news of her husband’s alleged death. She takes on a lover who is abusive toward her. Unbeknownst to her, Captain Walker had actually been captured and was being held in a prisoner-of-war camp. When the camp is liberated at the war’s end in 1945, Captain Walker returns home to find his wife with her lover. In a jealous rage, Captain Walker shoots the lover dead. Young Tommy, who is four years old, witnesses the murder. The boy loses his ability to see, hear and speak when, after the murder, his parents declare to him: “You didn’t see it, you didn’t hear it, you won’t say nothing at all.”

Captain Walker (Adam Jacobs) and Mrs. Walker (Alison Luff) have a spotlight moment when they team on an outstanding version of “I Believe My Own Eyes,” a song that did not appear on the Tommy album. It was written by Townshend for the 1993 stage production. Jacobs and Luff both give standout performances throughout the show.

John Ambrosio portrays Tommy’s Uncle Ernie as a self-loathing pathetic figure that abuses Tommy when the boy is left in his care one night. “Fiddle About,” a dark song that was penned by Entwistle, is Uncle Ernie’s signature moment. The other song that features Uncle Ernie, “Tommy’s Holiday Camp,” is not included in this production.

There is a genuine menace to Bobby Conte’s Cousin Kevin character, but he treads a fine line to avoid having the portrayal become a caricature. And Conte delivers a terrific version of the song “Cousin Kevin,” another of Entwistle’s Tommy compositions. Conte also provides a stellar performance on what is Tommy’s best-known song, “Pinball Wizard.”

Sheldon Henry as The Hawker and Daniel Quadrino as the Harmonica Player team on a great version of Williamson’s “Eyesight to the Blind” that leads into Christina Sajous’s stunning performance of “Acid Queen.” The role of Acid Queen had famously been played by Tina Turner in Russell’s 1975 film version, so Sajous had some big shoes to fill. And she did, delivering a knockout performance that includes that sad vision of her character shooting up.

The creative team behind this production of The Who’s Tommy are every bit as important as the show’s cast. Director McAnuff did a stellar job. And the set design by David Korins, lighting by Amanda Zieve and projection design by Peter Nigrini all combine to make the show dazzling from a visual perspective. The costume designs by Sarafina Bush are perfect and reflect the different eras portrayed in the show (largely the 1940s to the 1960s) quite well. Particularly affecting are the faceless masks worn by the actors representing the monstrous tormentors that young Tommy pictures in his mind. Music Supervisor Ron Melrose, Orchestrator Steve Margoshes and Music Director Rick Fox, who leads the band, breathe new life into the music and give it a vitality that resonates with the audience. Lorin Latarro’s choreography is superb. It fits the songs and each era being portrayed onstage perfectly, and it steers clear of the cheesiness that plagues other rock musicals.

At the time of the release of the original Tommy album in 1969, sexual abuse, trauma and bullying were not discussed much publicly. The fact that there is much more openness on those subjects now gives this production a resonance that makes it seem quite contemporary.

One does not necessarily have to be a fan of The Who to enjoy the show. While I have been a longtime fan of the band, have seen them in concert many times and saw the original 1993 Broadway production of The Who’s Tommy, my friend with whom I attended the show is not particularly familiar with Tommy or the rest of the band’s catalog. But she very enthusiastically praised the performance when we were discussing it afterward.

It should be noted that the music and sound effects in the show are quite loud. Some audience members might find it jarring. I wore earplugs during the performance that I saw and would recommend their use. In addition, those planning to bring young children to see the show should be aware that there are some scenes in the show that youngsters might find to be upsetting. During the performance that I attended, a young boy seated in the orchestra section with his parents loudly exclaimed “I don’t like this! I want to get out of here!” in reaction to Captain Walker shooting Mrs. Walker’s lover onstage.

This production of The Who’s Tommy is at the Nederlander Theatre at 208 West 41st Street in Manhattan. The show runs approximately two hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission. It is scheduled to run through Sunday, November 24th. The performance schedule and ticket-purchase links can be found at https://tommythemusical.com/#tickets.

The teaser trailer for The Who’s Tommy can be seen below:

A performance of a medley of “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me / Listening to You” by Pete Townshend and the cast of The Who’s Tommy from the March 26, 2024 broadcast of NBC-TV’s The Tonight Show can be seen below:

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