While all of you were busy unpacking your rooms, saying goodbye to Mom and Dad, and saying hello to a new semester, the cast and crew of the fall musical were hard at work on The Who’s Tommy. All of their efforts came to fruition during the final two weekends in October. The show premiered on Thursday, October 20 followed by shows on October 21-22 and 27-29. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, you really missed out on finding your inner “Pinball Wizard.”
Yes, to answer your question: The Who is the famous rock band, The Who. Don’t worry; I had no idea Pete Townshend had written a musical either.
This production was not one of AU’s more family-friendly shows because of the mature themes and some rather graphic scenes of child abuse and murder, which I’m sure created some awkward moments for freshmen families with younger siblings who went to see the show during All-American Weekend.
The rock opera follows Tommy (4-year-old and 10-year-old played by Brandon Deane and older Tommy played by Eddie Leavy), who, after witnessing his father murder his mother’s lover in their home at age four, becomes “deaf, dumb, and blind” and faces a life of sexual abuse from stereotypically pedophilic Uncle Ernie (Tim Harmey), cruelty from malicious Cousin Kevin (Matthew Rubbelke), and parents (Hilary Morrow and Brian Slayton) who try everything in their power to correct their mistakes. It is not until Tommy tries his hand at pinball that things begin to turn around for him. Tommy soon becomes a pinball superstar and manages to overcome the tragedies he’s experienced.
Despite the psychedelic nature of the production and the extremity of his situation, the theme still rings true to the audience. Tommy is able overcome a life of exclusive adversity. At one point, the players venture out into the audience and pick up some unsuspecting audience members and invited them to go see Tommy, when in reality, they were each handed a prop and flung up on stage with the cast.
Both Eddie Leavy and Brandon Deane bring to life the power and innocence of Tommy brilliantly commanding the audience’s attention exemplifying Tommy’s struggle with his past. However, the real stand-out of the show, for me, was the Acid Queen played by Haely Jardas. Tommy’s father is convinced by two men that a prostitute called “The Gypsy” who will cure Tommy. The Gypsy, who first crosses the stage as a man, but later returns as a woman with a bright red pony-hawk, tries to convince Tommy’s father to leave Tommy alone with her (or him) so she can cure him. Jardas steals the show strutting up and down the runway in her knee-high leather boots, risqué fishnets, barely-there corset top, and her incredible vocals that could convince you to do pretty much anything. She gives star vocalists like Tina Turner (who plays the Acid Queen in the film version) a run for their money. After vocally slapping the audience in the face, Jardas returns a few scenes later as part of the ensemble with a sundress on and hair in braids. Quite the contrast from the Acid Queen, but portrayed equally strongly by Jardas.
Needless to say, AU Performing Arts started their season off with a bang. If you didn’t get a chance to experience Tommy, definitely make plans to see their future productions. For those of you who did see it, I hope you got the same message that I did and go discover your inner “Pinball Wizard.”
Photo credit: http://www.american.edu/cas/museum/calendar/?eid=170372