The Who’s Tommy

Worzel_Gummidge, says:

Not Tommy -- Not The Who's.

Dallas Theater (sic) Center has just started its run of “The Who’s Tommy”. If Pete Townshend had release control over productions of his magnum opus this one would never see the light of day. Some problems can be resolved before opening night. Others are more immutable.

First, a problem of design. The stage comprises a few narrow walkways built over what looks like a temporary backyard swimming pool about six inches deep. This reduces the usable area to about a tenth of the size of the stage. That’s a big disadvantage in a musical where dancing is a major part of the show. Not to worry, the center of the pool has a large wooden island. But that’s where the director puts the band. So it isn’t usable for dance and in turn creates another problem. The band is now a ‘stressed member’ of the dancing and the acting, as well as providing the music. At its best, the result is comical. Band members act, at various times, as musicians, chaperones of pedophile Uncle Ernie, holiday camp entertainers, and general hangers on. The worst part is that the musicians can focus less fully on producing great music, and that is the core of this show.

The Tommy stage show is based on the brilliant film by manic genius Ken Russell. Modifications mainly reflect necessary changes for the stage. Rather than see that as a reassuring source of strength, in this production several songs deviate from The Who’s original tune and many scenes deviate from the original acts. Throughout, a big weakness of this production is its lack of fealty to the original. It starts in the first five minutes when Tommy’s mother, who is white with blond hair, give birth to a son who is..totally black! A biological miracle? The first known case of in vitro adoption? Later, we have the acid queen scene immortalized in Russell’s movie by Tina Turner. Inexplicably, Turner’s hooker is replaced by what appears to be a bag lady in a burqa. She eventually peels this off and dons a white uniform that makes her look like a parody of a school matron. Consider the brilliant, subtle Sally Simpson sequence in Russell. Where is this in the Dallas Theater (sic) Center’s production? Gone is the innocence and contemporary relevance, replaced by an emotionless recital of the words.

Throughout, the words are hard to hear because the director hasn’t balanced the volume of the instruments and the vocals. This is not always bad as some of the singers would not pass the “American Idol” test. The band plays all of the songs with the same sound and at the same tempo, so they all tend to sound the same.

I looked around and was struck by the number of audience members with, at least, silver memberships in the AARP. At the door, the ushers had handed out ear plugs, but these people were wearing hearing aids. If they were not already Who fans, would they appreciate that Pete Townshend really did write good music? Not on what was presented here. Other productions do pay a fitting tribute to The Who’s music. The 90s revival of this show in London was spectacular. Uptown Players brought a much better Tommy to Dallas in 2005, and probably on a much smaller budget. For now, don’t pay to see this travesty. Rent Russell from Netflix.

DC, says:

It's my understanding that Americans prefer the -er.