I have a lot of backlogged entries half-written - if not just an idea scribbled on paper, so they will get here eventually. Here is one from a month ago:
"Strange as it seems
His musical dream
Ain't quite so bad"
- Amazing Journey
I think it is important when seeing a stage version of Tommy to keep in mind the original album performed by The Who is the "concept album." It is not what the stage version should exactly sound like. Not only that, but it was written twenty-five years ago before making it to Broadway.
Then there is the movie. We even have a warning in the production preview guide that recommends not watching the movie "to gain an understanding of the stage version." It's not going to be anything like that. (Ann-Margret swimming in baked beans?)
A friend came to see the show and afterwards she kept asking what the director's decision was to not do this or that. I kept saying, "Because it's not in the script." And also not remembering it from the album, either. I finally realized she was basing it off of the movie.
Before we went into rehearsals, I wasn't understanding when people were talking about it starting in WWII. They were obviously mistaken, I thought. Capt. Walker is reported MIA in 1921 - wouldn't that be World War ONE? There is a whole song about '21 being a good year, after all.
Then I saw the first rehearsal. Had I misunderstood this whole time and that this was actually about turning AGE 21? I looked up the track listing on the concept album and the song is title is "1921 ." It turns out that Townshend changed it for the movie and it has been changed ever since.
There were a few add-ons to make a fuller story and smooth transitions. And a few lyric changes. Townshend said he changed them for the times - some of the lyrics now seemed outdated.
For instance (from a previous blog conversation):
I found out that "smoking mother nature" is not an edit change for a slightly censored version as we had thought. It is a change from the original to Broadway, which is now:
"No instant high for free here."
His musical dream
Ain't quite so bad"
- Amazing Journey
I think it is important when seeing a stage version of Tommy to keep in mind the original album performed by The Who is the "concept album." It is not what the stage version should exactly sound like. Not only that, but it was written twenty-five years ago before making it to Broadway.
Then there is the movie. We even have a warning in the production preview guide that recommends not watching the movie "to gain an understanding of the stage version." It's not going to be anything like that. (Ann-Margret swimming in baked beans?)
A friend came to see the show and afterwards she kept asking what the director's decision was to not do this or that. I kept saying, "Because it's not in the script." And also not remembering it from the album, either. I finally realized she was basing it off of the movie.
Before we went into rehearsals, I wasn't understanding when people were talking about it starting in WWII. They were obviously mistaken, I thought. Capt. Walker is reported MIA in 1921 - wouldn't that be World War ONE? There is a whole song about '21 being a good year, after all.
Then I saw the first rehearsal. Had I misunderstood this whole time and that this was actually about turning AGE 21? I looked up the track listing on the concept album and the song is title is "1921 ." It turns out that Townshend changed it for the movie and it has been changed ever since.
There were a few add-ons to make a fuller story and smooth transitions. And a few lyric changes. Townshend said he changed them for the times - some of the lyrics now seemed outdated.
For instance (from a previous blog conversation):
I found out that "smoking mother nature" is not an edit change for a slightly censored version as we had thought. It is a change from the original to Broadway, which is now:
"No instant high for free here."
There is a great interview that Mr. Townshend did here. You have to get halfway through it before he starts talking about Tommy.
Also a great documentary of taking Tommy to Broadway that you can watch on YouTube.
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