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Co-authored by The Who songwriter/guitarist Pete Townshend and director Des McAnuff, the songs and story of Tommy are by now familiar: a boy is stricken “deaf, dumb and blind” after witnessing a brutally violent crime. In a nearly catatonic state for most of his youth, Tommy is mocked, molested, and abused. To everyone’s surprise, he inexplicably excels at pinball as an adolescent and becomes an international star and messiah before eventually being abandoned by his fans and finding forgiveness and acceptance with his family in the end.

The MET’s production team were creative and definitely had a vision beyond the limits of their physical space for the scope of this show. The small stage was flanked by winding staircases and metal scaffolding leading to a walkway above—all of which the cast used throughout the show. Set changes were cleverly and quickly executed with choreographed placement of props and furniture by the cast. The passage of time was easily recognizable too, aside from the obvious of Tommy aging, the costumes were all era-appropriate and using projected images on the stage’s screen backdrop and was a nice touch.

With strong leads and high energy across the board, the cast of Tommy shines and electrifies. Samn Wright’s on-stage demeanor as the Narrator and the “awakened” adult Tommy in Act 2 was warm and enthusiastic. His clear tenor voice was perfectly suited to the lyrics and pop genre, especially on "Sensation" and "I'm Free/Pinball Wizard (Reprise)." Nathan Granner, playing Tommy’s father, was a pleasure to hear in a non-classical setting. His embellishments on “Tommy Can You Hear Me” during the first act were considerably soulful and satisfying. Katie Gilchrist was a wonderfully maternal Mrs. Walker (Tommy’s mother), with her ringing tone and fitting vibrato. Gilchrist’s most stunning vocal and acting moments were during her “Smash the Mirror” solo in Act 2.

Simply flawless on “Fiddle About” and “Tommy’s Holiday Camp,” Chris Gleason played the sinister Uncle Ernie with the perfect amount of unsettling creepiness. Other notable, exceptional performances include Michael Dragen as the mischievous Cousin Kevin and Aurielie Roque as the intense Acid Queen. The entire cast truly deserves special kudos for their enthusiastic and excellent entertaining, especially on the mammoth full-ensemble numbers.

The only misfortunes this evening were the unfortunate balance and microphone issues that plagued the performance. The live band sounded great (if a bit loud as accompaniment) and kept the driving rock beat moving throughout. Individual singers were fantastic when audible above the band, however too often microphones either distorted the vocals or did not project them enough. I suspect there may have also been a monitor issue as intonation was surprisingly shaky in a few spots for these usually accurate singers. Finding the technical sweet spots will be easily remedied though, and these issues certainly did not ruin the audience’s enjoyment of the show.

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre’s The Who’s “Tommy” runs through June 5 at METSpace. 

REVIEW:
Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre
The Who’s “Tommy”
May 19–June 5, 2011 (Reviewed May 22) 
METSpace
3614 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.metkc.org

Top Photo: Samn Wright and Ensemble in Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre's The Who's "Tommy"

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli

Editorial Assignments Executive Editor; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Kristin Shafel Omiccioli, a native of Madison, WI, holds composition degrees (M.M., B.M.) from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Kristin's compositions have been performed at national and regional new music festivals and conferences throughout the United States. During her time at UMKC, Kristin also focused on double bass performance and arts administration. She was a student leader and performer in many of the Conservatory's student organizations and ensembles, including Musica Nova, Composers' Guild, the Conservatory Student Association, the orchestras, and Wind Symphony. Her composition instructors were James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, and Chen Yi, and her bass instructor was Sue Stubbs. Formerly a guitarist, Kristin performed with big bands and her own jazz combo in Madison, WI, having studied jazz guitar and theory with Roger Brotherhood in Madison and jazz voice and theory with Hal Melia in Kansas City at UMKC.

Kristin enjoys being active in the performing arts community. She has volunteered with the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City and Charlotte Street Foundation, and has played in the bass section of the Northland Symphony Orchestra, among other bass gigs around the metro. Kristin currently serves as principal bass for the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and Heritage Philharmonic, and is a section bassist for Kinnor Philharmonic. She joined the writing staff of KCMetropolis.org in February 2010 and has been KCM’s executive editor since July 2011. Read her blog at mylittleheartmelodies.com.