BWW Reviews: Paramount Theatre's THE WHO'S TOMMY Struggles to Find Its Voice

It could be argued that the most important aspect of "The Who's Tommy," the stage musical version of The Who's concept album of the same name about the sensational pinball wizard, is doing justice to the brilliant songs that many know so well. If this is the case, then Paramount Theatre's production of the musical, currently running through February 15th, delivers in spades. As is almost always the case at the Paramount, the vocals are truly stellar and the band, with musical direction by Tom Vendrafreddo, is spot on. If you take a quick look around at the audience during the performance, you'll likely see many heads bobbing in appreciation.

However, when it comes the aspects that transcend "The Who's Tommy" from simply a theatrical concert to a fully-realized story, Paramount's production is missing many of the crucial moments that bring the plot together. Because the musical is entirely sung-through, and the lyrics alone can't be depended upon to convey every bit of information needed to follow the action of the show, the staging becomes ultra-important to the story telling. Unfortunately, with Jim Corti's direction, if you aren't familiar with the musical going into the show, some of the narrative becomes blurred and unclear.

I usually find Corti's direction to be quite the opposite of this; he usually finds and exposes every bit of the scripts he directs, which often takes his productions to a higher level. But, in his "Tommy," crucial plot points are not fully focused. Perhaps the most overlooked is the importance of the mirror that the deaf, blind, and mute Tommy is so entranced with. Considering what a big part of Tommy's journey this mirror holds, it's not apparent that there is even a mirror involved until the middle of the second act. This mirror, from the time that Tommy witnessed the traumatic moment that brings on his catatonic state, becomes a major Part of Tommy's world. Under Corti's direction, I nearly forgot how much importance this object held.

Corti's staging is not all at fault, however, for not accurately conveying the needed information. In a completely sung-through musical like this one, the choreography becomes just as integral to telling the story and, in this production, the choreography by Brock Clawson leaves much to be desired. Instead of forwarding the plot, which is quite crucial in this musical, many of the dance moves are reduced to basic descriptions of the lyrics. There is also a recurring "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" theme in the choreography, which feels like it shortchanges the depth of the plot being told. With the exception of an interesting and well-executed dance sequence in a doctor's office, much of the choreography felt uninspired and a waste of a cast of talented dancers.

The other all-important object other than the mirror, the pinball machine itself, is also a bit of a disappointment. On a spare set (designed by Linda Buchanan, which relies much on the occasionally distracting projections from Mike Tutaj), with a stage the size of the Paramount's, one would hope that the appearance of the pinball machine would be a bit more grand in scale. In a production where Tommy is raised to nearly the top of the stage in a rising crow's nest and flashy beams are consistently moving around the stage to create the spaces, the fairly basic pinball machine seemed to pale in comparison.

However, there is still much to be enjoyed in this production of "Tommy." As always, Paramount delivers a cast of top-notch performers. Devin DeSantis as Tommy has a spectacular voice and Jonathan Butler-Duplessis, in the ensemble, gives some of the most exciting vocal moments in the show. And, what seems to now be a signature of Paramount Theatre in my mind, the production is polished in a fashion that is often missing from other regional theatres in the area. So, though the production doesn't explore everything it could, it still delivers a solid show. And, if it's an excellent live performance of those The Who songs you are a looking for, Paramount's "Tommy" is the place to be.

"The Who's Tommy" is currently running through February 15th at the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora. Tickets can be purchased at www.ParamountAurora.com or by calling (630) 896-6666.

Photo Credit: Liz Lauren

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