The Who’s Tommy revival

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The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/13/20 at 11:22pm

With rumours in the air that it could possibly return 2021-22. Im curious to know who would be able to take the lead. I have not seen the show live but does it not almost require a big vocalist. And helped by a name performer.

Im just wondering for people more familiar if they have any idea what kind of actor would be best and likely for this. Like are we looking at a Harry Styles or Brendon Urie type?

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 3:32am

I’d like to see Reeve Carney as Tommy.

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 8:20am

As a big fan of The Who, I hope to god that they have better orchestrations. Frontman Roger Daltry was right. The sound of the arraignments came off as he called it “The Who lite.”

I do like the idea of Carney as Tommy though.

Updated On: 8/14/20 at 08:20 AM

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 9:07am

CATSNYrevival said: "I’d like to see Reeve Carney as Tommy."

Reeve Carney could definitely sing the role well, but he's way too old to be playing Tommy. Even at the end of the show Tommy's still only supposed to be 22 and Carney will be nearly 40 by the time this happens. Even looking back at clips of Michael Cerveris, who was in his early 30s, the age is definitely apparent and not in a good way.

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 9:23am

My guess is like many others’: will be stunt/star-cast. (Hopefully with someone who can truly sing.) A pop or boy-band star... social media star? TV/movie actor? The show and music (and arguably The Who) are even less fresh/recognizable to audiences than in the early 90s, and they’ll want someone recognizable — and easily replaceable for a longer run.

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 12:08pm

I need Theo Stockman to play Cousin Kevin in the worst way. I don't care about the rest of the cast (although Andrew Polec is a natural fit for Tommy).

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 12:50pm

Rebecca Naomi Jones as Mrs. Walker pretty please!

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 1:14pm

Will Townshend do a fourth rewrite on the project? Tommy has always been a bit of a therapy session for him to work out his sexual traumas.

And since his dubious pornography bust finally forced him to address the themes of molestation trauma threaded through 90% of his catalogue, I wonder if he’s still going to have this show be so glib and dismissive about the way half the characters in Act 1 molest Tommy, then are the “lovable comic sidekicks” in Act 2.

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 10:29pm

darquegk said: "Will Townshend do a fourth rewrite on the project? Tommy has always been a bit of a therapy session for him to work out his sexual traumas.

And since his dubious pornography bust finally forced him to address the themes of molestation trauma threaded through 90% of his catalogue, I wonder if he’s still going to have this show be so glib and dismissive about the way half the characters in Act 1 molest Tommy, then are the “lovable comic sidekicks” in Act 2."

Wow. You went there! Good for you!

#10

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/14/20 at 11:28pm

This is a show that requires an amazing cast and we lucked out with the original. I was sooo lucky to catch Alice Ripley (understudy) as Mrs. Walker and it remains one of the most exciting performances I’ve ever seen.

There was a lot of other talent too... Cerveris, Paul Kandel, Cheryl Freeman (who erased memories of Tina Turner and completely reinvented that role), and many others!

And, the storytelling/staging in that overture was incredible. I still remember being blown away by that one and the opening of the 1994 production of Carousel.

#11

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/15/20 at 2:20pm

I forgot about the recent Kennedy Center production. If the revival does stay on track for 2021, and if he’s available, I hope they’ll consider Casey Cott.

#12

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/15/20 at 11:29pm

Am I the only one who's really doubting that this ever happens at this point?

Don't get me wrong, as I've said before on this board, I'm an even bigger classic rock fan than I am a theater fan. I GUARANTEE you that I'll be going if it happens. (I don't care if the reviews suck or it only runs a week.) But, isn't a revival of Tommy better suited for gluttonous & properous pre-COVID Broadway (that would easily invest money on such a show), than severly wounded & money-desperate post-COVID Broadway?

Once again, I'd LOVE to be wrong on this one! But, it just don't seem to add up, anymore.

Updated On: 8/15/20 at 11:29 PM

#13

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/16/20 at 10:27am

I remain optimistic that we may still see a Broadway revival in the next few years. The 2021-2022 season may be a little too optimistic, but there was an official announcement and hopefully the creatives involved will remain enthusiastic about the project. We’ll see.

#14

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/16/20 at 10:56am

CATSNYrevival said: "I remain optimistic that we may still see a Broadway revival in the next few years. The 2021-2022 season may be a little too optimistic, but there was an official announcement and hopefully the creatives involved will remain enthusiastic about the project. We’ll see."

Pure speculation here, but my guess is this revival will premiere regionally (probably at La Jolla, but potentially somewhere else instead) in the 2021-2022 season with an eye for Broadway either Fall 2022 or Spring 2023. So basically a year delay from their initial timeline.

#15

The Who’s Tommy revival

Posted: 8/16/20 at 12:32pm

RumTumJM said: "Am I the only one who's really doubting that this ever happens at this point?

Don't get me wrong, as I've said before on this board, I'm an even bigger classic rock fan than I am a theater fan. I GUARANTEEyou that I'll be going if it happens. (I don't care if the reviews suck or it only runs a week.)But, isn't a revival of Tommy better suited for gluttonous &properous pre-COVID Broadway (that would easily investmoney on such a show), than severly wounded & money-desperate post-COVID Broadway?

Once again,I'd LOVE to be wrong on this one! But, it just don't seem to add up, anymore."

Obviously nothing is certain right now in the post-covid world, but one thing that this had going for them is that it's much of the original creative team wanting to re-examine a huge success of theirs from 30 years ago, so there's a lot of passion behind making this work. Money of course is a huge factor, but they also have The Who and Des McAnuff who I would guess will be willing to put as much as they can into this (as well as La Jolla, as this was such a huge success for their reputation, although their financial situation is of course more up in the air right now). So it's certainly no guarantee this will happen, but it's much more likely than if it was a completely new creative team with less personal connection to the show.

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