The Who's Tommy at Spragg Auditorium - Salesianum School

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2. The Who's Tommy

"The Who's Tommy", the hit rock opera, opened on Broadway to rave reviews April 22, 1993. Written and composed by Pete Townshend, on of the most influential songwriters of the past 30 years, "The Who's Tommy" was adapted for the stage by Townshend and the Tony Award-winning director, Des McAnuff. "The Who's Tommy", originally a landmark, multi-million copy selling concept album recorded in 1969, chronicles the adventures of Tommy Walker, who withdraws from the world following a traumatic experience in early childhood. While in his catatonia-like condition, Tommy demonstrates an extraordinary ability to play pinball. Eventually he re-emerges from his inner-world, becomes a charismatic Pinball Wizard and is turned into an unwilling hero who must live up to the demands of his followers."The Who's Tommy", which received five Tony Awards, fulfills Townshend's prophetic lyric "the crowd went crazy when Tommy hit the stage." Re-invented for the 1990s, The Who's Tommy is a masterpiece of contemporary American musical theater."The Who's Tommy" is set in a postwar world. But the experiences of the characters are, to an extent, timeless. So the question arises, since every era has had its desperation, its trauma, and ours is a postwar story, Which War? Our production embraces that universality and places our characters within their own timelines, within their own 20 year passage of time. Each existing in a pre and post-war life. Be it the Rosie the Riveter-esque experience of Mrs. Walker, the Korean War Era of American exceptionalism and desperation of Uncle Ernie, the disillusion and anger of the Vietnam Era Cousin Kevin, the post 9/11 disaffection and nihilism of The Local Lads and Lasses, the breadth of the our American experience is represented in a singular time, Before Tommy, and within the Tommy Era.Set within our own auditorium, magically deconstructed and reassembled into the vague form of a pinball machine this production leans heavily on video projection and lighting design to take us on an Amazing Journey.

Authors

• Des McAnuff
• John Entwhistle
• Keith Moon
• Pete Townshend

Tony Awards and Nominations for The Who's Tommy

A rehearsal shot featuring Mike Barkasy as Tommy/Narrator on guitar

From our Music Assembly Concert Preview featuring Caroline Achenbach as the Acid Queen as well as Audrey Embley (Cousin Kevin), Tommy Wirt (Specialist's Assistant) and Katie Carrig (Specialist).

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