From pinball wizard to cult leader: ‘The Who’s Tommy’ at the Forum Theatre
Thoughtful direction and a hardworking cast bring joy to a dark and challenging musical. Performances of ‘The Who’s Tommy' run through October 5.
The Forum Theatre’s production of “The Who’s Tommy” features a cast that tackles the material with both emotional nuance and what can only be described as an acrobatic, high-intensity workout. Together, they offer a worthwhile take on the oddball musical based on The Who’s legendary concept album.
According to its writer Pete Townsend, “Tommy” was a way of attempting to exorcise the emotional demons that haunted him from his abusive childhood. The 1969 double album is widely acknowledged as the reason rock operas are a thing.
Unlike the album and subsequent Who tour, the 1975 movie and Broadway musical that premiered in 1993 (and was revived this year) required some visual staging and limited connecting dialogue. Townsend co-wrote both the movie's script (with Ken Russell) and the musical's book (with Des McAnuff). Both feel like they are assembled from a kid’s jumble of bright, sharp memories into a broken adult’s recollection of boyhood. Let’s be frank: In none of its iterations have fans of The Who’s legendary “Tommy” been coming back for the plot. It’s weird, disturbing, incomplete, and sometimes perplexing.
While “Tommy” is not a memoir, it is commendable that Townsend allowed himself — a huge rock star and arguably one of our greatest songwriters — to be so vulnerable and tell such a painful story. When a theater company produces this imperfect and demanding show, they too are taking a risk, which is admirable as well. This is only the second time a local company has staged “Tommy.” The first was produced by Forum Producing Artistic Director Kathy Page Hauptman in the late 1990s for Stage One.
Left: Tommy (Ethan Crank) becomes a "Pinball Wizard," inspiring cult-like worship in those around him. Right: Mrs. Walker (Nora Graham) begs her blind son Tommy (Ethan Crank) to stop focusing on a mirror and speak to her. Courtesy photos by Ashley Hillman
It’s not uncommon for directors and producers to go full-tilt, non-stop glam with sets, costumes, and lighting when producing “Tommy.” Instead, director Steve Hitchcock focuses on the human elements of this story, taking advantage of the ample talent in this cast and the opportunities to connect with the powerful emotions that ground the eccentric script.
Ethan Crank as the adult Tommy Walker gives a buoyant, physical performance with remarkable stamina. He makes familiar favorites, including “I’m Free,” “Sensation,” and “Amazing Journey” his own with his soaring voice. Nora Graham (Mrs. Walker) balances caring and clueless in the role of Tommy’s mother, who is sometimes played more cruelly. The choice plays well with Graham’s sweet face and voice.
Zachary Garraway plays Captain Walker, who, riddled with guilt for his actions that struck his son blind, deaf, and mute, is always seeking to fix the boy. As the young versions of Tommy, both Pierce Vice (Tommy Age 4) and Perri Hobson (Tommy Age 10) show remarkable control and are surprisingly captivating, given the static nature of their roles.
As the show’s notorious perverts, John Keckeisen (Uncle Ernie) and Clayton Reitz (Cousin Kevin) rely on their expressive voices and robust acting skills to successfully give us well-earned heebie-jeebies. On opening night, the stunning Delany Williams was occasionally hard to hear in the twisted cameo role of the Acid Queen, but when she let loose, she blew me away with her belting style. Tyler Treat’s Sally Simpson has a retro charm and verve.
Buried in the darkness of this story, Hitchcock has established an optimistic heart, which benefits from being set against the starkness of the story’s circumstances and an effective set by Ben Juhnke. This urban jungle gym of red-orange scaffolding stands as a monument to how challenging just surviving in England must have been during World War II and the years that followed. The projections and lighting by Juhnke and James K. Davis help establish periods, as do costumes by Megan Reed. The effect is industrial and in some ways intimidating.
The wonderful ensemble — a diverse group of 11 engaged actors with solid movement chops and clear, expressive voices — climbs up and down these structures, maintaining two separate hours of on-the-go, high-energy performance in the form of creative choreography by Megan Parsley. This beautiful extended group dance plays a major role in driving the narrative forward.
It’s worth noting that the show is set to a recorded soundtrack, and necessarily so. The musical score can include up to 25 instruments including a string section. The Forum’s intimate theater could not accommodate an orchestra of that size. Working with recorded music, however, can be unforgiving and requires precise vocal work and unerring timing. Under the musical direction of Wichita stalwart Linda Starkey, this cast does it at a nimble pace with enthusiasm, authenticity, and confidence, bringing a hopeful glow to a story rooted in trauma.
What are the takeaways we can gather from “Tommy?” Maybe it’s that if your youngster witnesses a murder, don’t sing-shout “You didn’t see it! You didn’t hear it!” at him. Maybe it’s that pinball skills can help you achieve your dream of being a cult leader. What I took away from this production is that Wichita is home to a hell of a lot of talented, hardworking actors.
The Details
“The Who’s Tommy”
Through October 5 at the Forum Theatre at the Wilke Family Life Center, First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway in Wichita
Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
$44. Discounts are available.
Visitor note: The theater entrance is on the east side of the building. Enter the parking lot from Topeka Street.
For reservations, call 316-618-0444.
Teri Mott is a writer and actor in Wichita, Kansas, where she has covered the arts as a critic and feature writer and worked at nonprofit arts organizations for 40 years. She is a co-founder of the SHOUT.
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