Ray of Light Theatre's Tommy


I dare you not to cheer for "Pinball Wizard"!

I don't know about you, but "Tommy" was a big influence when I was growing up. Somehow my negligent parents let me see the Ken Russell movie. I mean, do the math: I was 11 years old when that came out, and I know I saw it in the theatres. And bought the album. OK, so the drug and pedophilia references probably went right over my head, but I'm lucky I wasn't scarred for life by Ann Margaret in her white halter jumpsuit writhing around in baked beans. I loved everything about that move, sick twisted kid that I was, especially Roger Daltry and Elton John as the Pinball Wizard.

Of course, if you know the original rock opera from The Who, you know that those famous opening chords of "Pinball Wizard" were originally driving rhythm guitar chords, not the piano arpeggios Elton John whips out in the movie. Either way, when you hear them: You want to stomp your feet and nod your head to the rhythm and maybe even lift a lighter in the air.

Last weekend we saw the Opening Night of "Tommy" as produced by the Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco. [Disclosure: I received comp'ed media tickets.] I saw the original Broadway production of this musicalization of The Who's rock opera, and that production relied heavily on visual effects. I was curious how a small theatre without Broadway budget would manage, because I remember thinking at the time...wow, this plot is pretty thin...good thing there are some pinball machines flying around.

Well, the plot is still pretty thin, but the good thing is really that the music is completely timeless. I don't know if it's only true for m-m-m-my generation, but I didn't need special effects. Not when there were some pretty great voices up there, starting with Zachary Franczak as Tommy and Emily Wade Adams as Mrs. Walker. They both sang the hell out of the show, as Acid Queen Leanne Borghesi did with her one number. The show was also ably abetted by the two young men who played young Tommy. Both David "Kelii" Kahawaii (playing Tommy, age 10) and Deucalion Martin (playing Tommy, age 4) were distractingly good, especially Deucalion. He brought the house down.

Seeing a show on Opening Night can be a hit or miss proposition. On the plus side, you usually get the kind of amped up energy that only Opening Night adrenaline can produce, and especially in the group numbers this was in evidence...the young chorus really seemed like young, exuberant teens seeing out their next Idol.

On the minus side, often the acting hasn't really gelled and the actors haven't found their moments...together or on their own...quite yet. If you see a show once at the beginning and then again towards the end of a run, you'll find there's a whole new layer of complexity of emotion going on. By then the singing and the dancing and the blocking has solidified 100%, and actors can focus on finding what's beneath and behind all of those things.

I really felt this last Friday night. Especially in a show that's so fast-paced, visually oriented, not exactly blessed with the most linear and/or obvious context, the actors felt a bit like they were still searching for how they wanted to play some moments. The show almost felt like it was really only starting when a couple of the supporting players, first Paul Plain as Uncle Ernie, then Manuel Caneri as Cousin Kevin, got their spotlight. Plain, in particular, attacked his role with the abandon requisite to make me remember, "yeah, this is a rock musical!"

I'll admit: I'm a fool for the movie version of "Tommy" because that was my first experience of it. But when I heard that rhythm guitar playing the opening chords of "Pinball Wizard"...well, i was a fool for this production too!

Check the Ray of Light web site for more info on buying tickets. The show plays through November 7th.

Posted: Sat - October 24, 2009 at 10:16 AM       EmailFeedback

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