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The
Who's Tommy from Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
Page 5
In
the years to come, Pete Townshend's reborn work would be produced
in theaters across the globe and would influence many. Elton John,
who starred in the film version of Tommy as the pinball wizard,
tried his hand at Broadway with the musical Adia. In essence,
Tommy helped open up Broadway to the vast emotional and theatrical
potential of rock & roll music. As Pete Townshend remarked
about the stamp that Tommy left on Broadway, "I'm from rock
and roll. We belong here. This is our place. Whether we're welcome
or not - we're here. And we like it here. And we're staying"
(E1 On Broadway). Many people fall in love with Tommy for different
reasons. Film director Ken Russell said, "It's about enlightenment
and we all need a shock to open our eyes" (Brown). John Entwistle
thought that, "the reason it survived was that it's emotional"
(Brown). Perhaps Roger Daltry summed it up best, "The ambiguity
of Tommy helped answer many different things for many different
people, but it didn't really answer anything, which was the beauty
of it" (Brown). The true genius behind Tommy might never
be uncovered; however, its impact has been unmistakable. Tommy's
theatrical potential and success on Broadway helped legitimize
a genre of music that is often branded as unsophisticated. The
power and impact of Tommy, the musical, easily equaled that of
any other genres in every sense. Rock & roll music had been
legitimized and embraced on Broadway like never before. As Pete
Townshend's masterpiece survived twenty-five years of dormancy
only to revive into one of the biggest musical of the 1990s, he
now rests easy with the future of a work that he once was ready
to denounce, "In the future, I think Tommy has been given
wings so that it can fly by itself" (Brown).
Bibliography:
Brown, Barry Alexander; The Who's Tommy: The Amazing Journey;
Buena Vista Home Video; 1993.
Sanders, Rick; Townshend On Tommy; Rolling Stone; July 12, 1969;
Issue #37.
The Who's Tommy; E! On Broadway; http://www.amazing-journey.com/eontom.htm
.
Page 1 of The Who's Tommy from
Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
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Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
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Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
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Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
Page 5 of The Who's Tommy from
Rock-Opera to Broadway and Beyond
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