Tommy is a Rock Opera featuring the music of The Who. It was first performed in 1969, and is now enthusiastically taken on by Stage Two Productions.

I have never seen Tommy before, but I really like The Who, and hope this is enough of a pre-requisite to appreciate the show. 

The Musgrove Theatre has extremely limiting stage room, and packed into the corner is a lovely little live orchestra complete with conductor. The guitar playing is fantastic. 

So begins the story of a young boy so traumatised after witnessing a murder and his parents encouragement to "see nothing, hear nothing", that he becomes deaf, dumb and blind. Young Tommy is played beautifully by Sam Verlinden, and required to be completely unresponsive even when a balloon is popped in his face.

Themes of isolation and illusion permeate the show. A mirror stands in the corner as a witness to Tommy’s reinvention of himself on the day of the murder. He has no allies; it is only his ability to play pinball that helps ‘save’ him.

Tommy is left in the ‘care’ of Paedophile Uncle Ernie (Omar Al-Sobky) or his nasty cousin, yet even they are just another mirror for his own inexpressible pain. Strangely, I am not feeling as much empathy as I think I am meant to.

As a taste barometer, I like exactly four musicals in this order; The Rocky Horror Show, Grease, Cabaret and Little Shop of Horrors. The uniting factor in these shows is a reasonable amount of dialogue aside from the singing, and each one is imbued with humour and ways to identify with the characters.

Story-wise, Tommy is pretty hard-core. Performance-wise, it is difficult to truly connect with anyone. Tommy is the one we need to ‘see, feel, touch’, but the only times I feel close to this is when both ‘Tommys’ sing together in harmony. In fact, harmonies and the more chorus focused numbers are the ones that pack more emotional power.

Fagamalo (Tommy grown up) appears from the time that the young Tommy is divorced from his senses. He serves as a voice of hope, an almost angelic presence. Fagamalo does have a lovely voice but seems to be losing it towards the end of the show. Lemon and honey for that young man please.

The singers with consistent voices are Tommy’s mother, Mrs Walker (Chanel Turner), Mr Walker (Phillip White), Pinball Wizard (Cam Nealie) and the delightful Pimp/Hawker, Jarrod Lee.

Lee’s performance really stands out. Physically, he is not a tall guy, but when he sings he radiates this amazing charisma which makes him tower above everyone else. I would pay to go and see him sing old tunes, especially if he keeps the fur coat on. 

Tama Boyle also has a good voice, as does Jonathan Riley, and you can see everyone on stage is enthusiastic and having a great time.

Tommy is an ambitious undertaking, perhaps needing to be reworked in order to fit a small stage. In the cramped Musgrove theatre, it feels crowded and overblown and could be edited down to an hour and a half to prevent any dragging.

The set is an ongoing whirlwind, pieces being wheeled on and off, sometimes with difficulty. At one point I hold my breath, thinking the actors are going to fall backwards into the orchestra.

The orchestra is great, keeping good time and showcasing a variety of skills: one of the best things about this show.

Tommy therefore, is not a musical you will necessarily enjoy just because you like The Who. If you are already a Tommy fan, or are partial to song and dance routines then it is definitely worth taking a look.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer