Rock Opera “Tommy” Comes to Moorhead HS

By Nick Roller
Contributing Writer

Few musical compositions are beloved by not only musicians and listeners, but the theatre and film industries as well. The Who’s 1969 release “Tommy” is one example of this great achievement.

In 1993, this musical masterpiece was adapted as a theatrical piece by Des McAnuff along with the group’s guitarist and the album’s main composer, Pete Townshend.
Now, after 889 Broadway performances, this adaptation of the Who’s magnum opus is coming to the stage of Moorhead High School.

The theatrical version varies just ever so slightly from the album itself, set in the time following World War II. The production opens with the birth of a son to young Mrs. Walker.

Captain Walker however, has been captured in combat and is presumed dead. Four years later, during a birthday celebration for the “widow,” Mr. Walker returns home to find his wife embracing another man.

As a fight between the two men breaks out, Mrs. Walker turns Tommy toward a mirror, hoping to shield him from the violence, but through the glass the young boy witnesses his father’s murder.

The couple then in a panic tell Tommy that he didn’t hear or see a thing, and musn’t speak of the evening’s events to anyone.

After realizing that the boy is deaf, blind, and mute, the couple tries fervently to cure the boy but with no success. Tommy is left with his uncle Ernie, who abuses him, and next with his cousin Kevin who bullies him further.

To the family’s surprise, after taking Tommy to an arcade, he displays an astonishing prowess at the game of pinball. As he grows, he becomes a neighborhood hero and a local pinball champion.

Mrs. Walker is encouraged by this, but to her dismay the doctors tell her that there is no physical cure for the boy’s ailments; he must find peace within himself.
One evening while agonizing over Tommy’s future, his mother shatters a mirror. As the shard’s fall to the floor, the boy’s consciousness returns. Now adding to his fame as a pinball wizard is his miraculous recovery.

His uncle Ernie takes this opportunity to capitalize on his fame selling souvenirs and booking stadium dates for his nephew.

During one of his appearances, a young girl named Sally sneaks away from home to meet the idol. When she approaches him however, he brushes her aside, and she is swallowed by a gang of security guards. Horrified, Tommy realizes how caught up in his fame he has become and rescues Sally.

She asks him how she can be more like him, and he responds with the ever-so-wise advice, why be like me, when you can be yourself? Dissatisfied with his response, his followers abandon him.

The story ends with the boy embracing his family in acceptance.

Truly an experience for the eyes and the ears alike, this production is not one to be missed. It is a vivid and powerful illustration of rock’s first true “concept album” and arguably the best. Tommy is a story of trauma, darkness, and reprisal, an epic and colorful illustration of loss, struggle and self discovery. The attendee will most definitely not be disappointed.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Nov 12-14, 19-21, and 27 in the Moorhead High School Auditorium, 2300 4th Ave. S; sign language-interpreted performance, Nov 14.

Tickets go on sale November 1. Call the Moorhead High School Activities Office at 284-2345 for reserved tickets. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students. You can also treat yourself to advance ticketing privileges by purchasing a $10 “I Helped MHS Theater Rock” button in the Activities Office.

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

If You Go

What: “Tommy”
Where: Moorhead HS
When: Nov 12-27
Info: 218.284.2345