CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, April 02, 2024

Review Roundup: THE WHO'S TOMMY Returns To Broadway!

www.broadwayworld.com: The Pinball Wizard has returned to conquer Broadway! The revival of the iconic rock n'roll spectacle The Who's Tommy is opening tonight at the Nederlander Theatre in a new production from original Tony Award-winning creators Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff.

2 comments:

Sarah Pearce said...

This article brought back flashbacks to when my parents had me watch the 1975 Tommy movie with them years ago. And as a young teenager, I don’t remember the plot of the film, only that a young me was extremely weirded out and did not enjoy it. A large part of me that remembers my reaction to the odd film does not want to see the new stage production, out of a fear that is would be the same odd fever dream of an experience. However, I must admit that reaction is very childish and unrealistic. This story has been loved my many for decades, and I know I have a pattern of not enjoying ‘weird’ musicals on screen as much as on the stage. So while I remain slightly apprehensive, I think I’ve accepted that it time to give this story another chance, and to look at it with a fresh perspective and enjoy the ride.

Nick Wylie said...

I am happy to see that this show is indeed going to Broadway. This show revival started at the Goodman while I was a carpenter there, so I was a part of the team putting it together. While we were working on it, I tried figuring out where it was going next but it seemed like there wasn't really a plan for the tour. It's very cool to see something I worked on going to some of the biggest stages in America, especially when the work was something I was very proud to put in stage. The design for this show had a lot of integrated lighting, which was a long process for us both in the shop and during load-in. It was a massive group effort to make sure everything was perfect for this show, but after seeing it go on stage and then on tour I can definitely say this is one of the cooler projects I have worked on. I do hope this show tours for a while, but of course in our industry at some point we move on to the next show and start the whole process over again.