Questions about The Who's Tommy

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Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 3:36pm

I found a book at a yard sale titled "Great Rock Musicals," which has the complete book and lyrics for a number of rock musicals such as Grease, Hair, the Wiz, and a bunch of others. The book was published in 1979, making it not current.

Anyway, I was researching production history on the shows I was not familiar with, and I noticed that Tommy was not produced on Broadway until 1993, but the books is from 1969. How was it able to be eligible for some Tony awards such as Best Book and Score if it was already fairly well known, except for not being produced on Broadway?

Sorry if it seems like I'm over thinking.

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Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 3:47pm

The CD was ruled a concept album for a show always planned for the stage. Before the Broadway (Except for the production at La Jolla) production it wasn't produced for the stage before. It lacked the the 20 years of stage productions that Little Shop of Horrors, which pretty much rendered it ineligible.

I think it's a bullsh*t rule though.

Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 3:54pm

Well, no, it had been done on stage before - though it wasn't overtly licensed by a theatre house like Tams, MTI, Samuel French etc.

At the time, the rules for eligibility for best score/book didn't much take into account prior incarnations - Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe for example won Best Score for GIGI in 1973, even though it mostly contained the songs used in the original film.

TOMMY and I believe BEAUTY AND THE BEAST made the American Theatre Wing rethink the principle behind rewarding scores /scripts of pre-existing material, and the rule now deems that a property must contain over 50% new material in order to be eligible for Tony consideration.

Obviously, if TOMMY were to open now, it wouldn't be eligibe for score or book.

Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 4:07pm

Makes sense. Thanks for your help.

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Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 4:11pm

I think the issue also came up with Seven Brides... and Meet Me in St. Louis.

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Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 4:18pm

True and both ST. LOUIS and SEVEN BRIDES were nominated for Best Score Tonys. Both did contain a lot of new material though, written expressly for the stage. I think it was TOMMY and BEAUTY and the keen awareness that a lot more Disney movies might be coming to Broadway that made them really examine and change the rules.

Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 7:23pm

At least BATB had several new songs. As far as I can recall, TOMMY only had one new added song.

Questions about The Who's Tommy

Posted: 7/22/10 at 8:25pm

You are correct, Jon, the only new song written for the stage was "I Believe My Own Eyes." Pete Townshend has stated this was probably one of the most difficult songs he has ever written as he was actually writing for the characters and the way it fit into the story, as opposed to just writing for the loose story they were telling with the original album.

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