 About Kati Schardl
|
| Features| Opinion| Sports| Home| Search| Help| Weather| tallahassee.com |
Behind-the-scenes bravery makes 'Tommy'
 THE WHO'S TOMMY
|
Tallahassee Democrat
Never accuse Theatre A La Carte founder-director Eric Hurst of theatrical cowardice.
Hurst and his troupe have been nothing if not ambitious and daring for the last 10 years, and the anniversary production of "The Who's Tommy" that opens at Tallahassee Little Theatre tonight epitomizes A La Carte's skill at staging big-bucks musicals on a shoestring budget.
Who needs a big bankroll when you've got the kind of guts, talent, exuberance and clever direction that made Wednesday night's dress rehearsal performance of "Tommy" such fun? This show is the perfect birthday present from A La Carte to local theatergoers.
Composer Pete Townsend's groundbreaking rock opera got the Broadway treatment in the early '90s. Townsend and director Des McAnuff streamlined the original's sprawling plot and added a new song ("I Believe My Own Eyes," a rather pallid, schmaltzy tune one could never imagine The Who performing). The original went on to win five Tony Awards.
The story follows Tommy, a young English lad who suffers a trauma that causes him to become deaf, mute and blind, on his amazing journey from emotional and sensory isolation to freedom and redemption. The role was split into three separate parts for the Broadway version, and A La Carte's "Tommy" troika is a large part of what makes the show so affecting.
Emily Slayden plays Tommy at age 4, Amy Jenkins is 10-year-old Tommy and Brian Walker plays the older Tommy, who also serves as an omniscient narrator. Slayden and Jenkins are simply wonderful as the closed-off, unresponsive younger boy. At Wednesday night's dress rehearsal, both maintained their deadpan expressions so well it was almost frightening.
Jenkins was a standout. She maintained a heartbreakingly frozen facade even as she was being stuffed in a garbage can and rolled around the stage by Tommy's bullying Cousin Kevin (David FM Vaughn) and groped by wicked Uncle Ernie (the excellent A.J. Methvin).
As the older Tommy, Walker projected a sly innocence. He was particularly moving when onstage with his younger incarnations -- one could sense his compassion for his younger selves.
Hurst has crammed his cast with good, strong voices and interesting faces. Standouts include Walker, Vaughn, Methvin, Rachael McCauley as Tommy's mother and Ayanna Abney as The Gypsy. Abney is a big, earthy, tender Acid Queen, and she gives the character's signature song an impassioned reading.
Swift, seamless scene changes help propel the action, and Michelle Ackerman's choreography invest it with vibrant life. Ackerman is especially good at moving crowds around the stage in the big production numbers.
In a show like "Tommy" -- one in which nearly every song is well-known to the audience -- the quality of the music is paramount. Thanks to Sarah Hess' masterful musical direction, the small orchestra rose to the challenge admirably. Apart from a few tempo stumbles and a stray sour note here and there, the ensemble managed to live up to Townsend's score.
Tony Serna's sound design makes good use of special effects, and the projection design by Claudia Vaccaro, Jenny Wilhelm and Scott and Roberta Freese does much to augment the spare set design.
Kati Schardl writes theater reviews and a weekly music column for the Tallahassee Democrat. She also writes arts-related feature stories and profiles. A North Florida native, she grew up in the small town of Marianna, came to Tallahassee to attend FSU and never left. Schardl joined the Democrat in May 1998 after working for years as office manager for the St. Petersburg Times capital bureau.
Write Kati Schardl at [email protected] .
All content � 2000 Tallahassee Democrat. All rights reserved.
Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Tallahassee Democrat is prohibited.
Questions, comments: [email protected]