The Who's Tommy @ The Goodman

Can't wait. Great cast.

First extension to through July.

Updated On: 6/14/23 at 05:40 PM

I'm going tomorrow night. I have a friend who went last night and was not the biggest fan, but he had never seen the show, so it was hard to tell if he had issues with the production or show itself. They actually have set up a pinball arcade in the lobby that you can play, with apparently a custom pinball machine for this production. Also, the goodman is selling merch, which I've never seen them do.

Looking forward to a great show - seeing it Juneteenth Eve.

Updated On: 6/14/23 at 08:02 PM

Will be there next Friday and will snag some pics if no one else does!

Didn't see it on Broadway but saw the original tour and it was one of the best things I've ever seen on stage. Absolutely phenomenal staging and design. I hope the new production doesn't mess too much with a good thing.

found this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtdJZShOnT7/

Updated On: 6/15/23 at 03:30 PM

JasonC3 said: "Long Chicago Tribune article about the show (original production and current). Might be paywalled but you should be able to get around that.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ent-townshend-tommy-goodman-theatre-20230615-xkifkqe26ffc5nwyert4a4ttfy-story.html"

"Its Chicago reboot will be followed (or so the current plan goes) by a national tour and a return to Broadway, still under the direction of McAnuff, who brought the show to Broadway in the first place."

I have gone the past three nights and have highly enjoyed it. Definitely a crowd pleaser... the whole audience was on its feet before the last song even ended tonight.

Fantastic performances and definitely very fast paced. It has gotten even tighter since Tuesday where there really is no pause for applause. Alison Luff's "Mirror" gets a good reaction when she hits the high notes at the end.

Des has come out to introduce to show each night.

They've done away with the "In the future..." which made no sense in act 2. Also missing is the giant white head which came down from the ceiling after the final curtain call. I'd like the very beginning to start a little stronger... everyone is just standing around for far too long until the music kicks in. But once it begins, it's nonstop from there.

Definitely well received by the audience. People in their 40s-60s waving their fists and jamming along especially in the second act.

Since we really have no other theater options downtown for the next month and a half, this should definitely do great business.

To answer your questions, really really loud. I've been in the 7th row, 2nd row and 1st row, and the shots are really jarring. I was with my 76 year old war veteran father tonight and prepared him multiple times just so he would not be alarmed. I'd assume they are from the soundboard (since the gun was about 2 feet from me tonight) and all the sound came from the speaker rather than the gun itself.

All the firing is within the first 15 minutes of the show. The scene Tommy witnesses (obviously) but prior to that there are war sequences that are mostly digital projections, but soldiers do fire off rounds of gunfire.

I have noticed multiple people comment about the gun noises at intermission... hopefully they can be turned down moving forward.

The Goodman is a very small theater which typically produces quiet plays. In this case, there are giant Metallica size speakers, which makes the music amazing and immersive, but definitely amplifies the sound of gunfire.

For those curious ones, here’s the Press Reel for the original 1993 Broadway production featuring Michael Cerveris as Tommy Walker. Having seen this insanely fantastic and visually mind-blowing production at the St. James Theatre (which was painted entirely in bright yellow with the TOMMY graffiti all over it) about 10 times, it was great watching this. The musical features, what I’m sure many would also agree with, Wayne Cilento’s best choreographic work. You can spot Sherie Rene Scott in the ensemble numbers (she played Sally Simpson in the musical as well).

I was there last night and was blown away, defintley by the first Act. I always felt the second act kinda loses momentum after the come to my house number. But, that’s a quibble with the show itself, but this production is a stunner.
I loved the look of this show creating kind of a kubreckian mod 60’s black and white feel with pops of color from different items in Tommy’s life was a brilliant choice, it’s almost like we are watching Tommy’s memory. And this show especially the first 30 minutes does not stop to breathe, there is so much movement on that stage, whether from the set or the cast. It’s all done beautifully. And I’m not sure there’s a better director who knows how to punctuate with lighting then Des McAnuff.

With a few more tweaks this could be on broadway tomorrow.

Super excited to see this on Sunday!