Way Back Wednesday: The Who's Tommy

Well, hell. I actually caught up on shows I've seen, so why not try something new? Let's take it back to my first ever Broadway show. Growing up in Westchester, I was surrounded by kids who had seen all the biggest hits. Everyone saw Cats at some point, there were hardcore Les Miz devotees, and there were even the folks who had been on Broadway themselves. My family hated the city (they've long since fled the tristate area), didn't seem particularly interested in the arts, and didn't exactly have an over-abundance of cash. So at 13, I felt like I was the only kid in school who hadn't seen a Broadway show. Felt like--I'm sure it wasn't actually the case. I don't know that I was all that interested in the theater for its own sake, but I felt kind of left out. So when there was a chance to catch a show on a school trip super cheap, I convinced my mom to send me. And that's how I ended up at the St. James Theater for The Who's Tommy.

Part of me wants a revival of Tommy to see how I'd feel about it now. The other part of me never wants there to be one because I don't want to change my memory of it. I loooooved it. I don't have any terribly complex thoughts about it--I was 13. But I remember being completely overwhelmed by the notion of a deaf and blind person. The gunshots sent me leaping out of my chair each time. The blaring music was transporting. And when the Acid Queen showed up? I was in Confused Gay Teen heaven. Cheryl Freeman was glorious. In short, I was transported. Being young and smug, I felt that since it was a rock opera, it was somehow more "authentic" than other shows and thought it was pretty great to see something so "edgy" my first time out. Of course, while by my current standards, it's not exactly revolutionary, it was right for the time--pushing me to think beyond myself and presenting ideas that for then were certainly beyond me. I was a pretty sheltered kid--sure, I was reading a lot of Jackie Collins and Stephen King, but I was also at mass every Sunday and my idea of rebellion was turning in homework late.

Looking back now, a few things stand out: I was lucky to see such an incredible cast. It had Alice Ripley, Michael Cerveris, Christian Hoff, Norm Lewis, and Sherie Rene Scott. Also, it kind of didn't make any sense. The blind and deaf kid becomes a pinball wizard and is thus catapulted to superstardom? Then he's cured by some weird machine and everyone goes away? Because that's less impressive somehow?

Regardless, it was a show that gave me glitz and spectacle but also did legitimately broaden my worldview a bit. Also, a musical about the ultimate outsider is pretty much perfect for a teenager.

My snobbery towards "edgy" material lasted all the way until my second show when I seriously flipped my shit for the Gershwin tuner Crazy for You (which I definitely want revived). It was a lovely one-two punch. A show that riveted and confused and challenged me (even if looking back it might be kinda dumb) and a big old-fashioned musical comedy to show that sometimes fun in fun and there's nothing wrong with that. In a lot of ways, I think I still approach live theater looking for those two things in equal measure. When I consider what my favorite shows of the year so far have been (and oh yes, in a few months there will absolutely be a retrospective on the year), I come back to the joyful and exuberant The Book of Mormon and the emotionally devastating born bad. I absolutely want to be challenged by great art. And sometimes I just want to settle back and cheer a tap routine. Quality is quality, whatever its intent.