'Tommy' Packs an Emotional Wallop

STAGE REVIEW The Who's Tommy Today at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater.

By Eric Deggans

Times Pop Music Critic

CLEARWATER — After nearly two decades of hearing classic-rock staples like the Who's "See Me, Feel Me," and "Pinball Wizard" blasting from the radio, it's a little jarring to see it all wrapped in a Broadway-style package for the stage version of the band's epic album Tommy.

But what's surprising, even upon seeing the scaled-down touring version that hit Ruth Eckerd Hall on Friday night, is how well Who mastermind Pete Townshend's surreal head trip translates to the world of greasepaint and curtain calls.

Any rock fan worth his salt knows the story: Tommy, a child of '40s-era Britain, shuts out the world by going deaf, dumb and blind after seeing his war-hero father murder his mother's wartime lover.

After being molested and abused by an uncle and cousin, Tommy's skill as a pinball player emerges, bringing fame and legions of fans. Still, Tommy's parents, racked by guilt, keep up efforts to cure their son, trying medical, spiritual and sexual means.

Using an ingenious mix of projected images and pantomimed action, the story of Tommy's early years moved at light speed, as staged Friday night by Big League Theatricals.

I've never seen the 1993 Broadway version of Tommy, or the big-budget tour that hit Florida not long after, but the smaller production that unwound before a near-capacity crowd at Eckerd Hall still packed an emotional wallop, thanks mostly to the actor playing Tommy, 18-year-old Michael Seelbach.

Capturing perfectly the middle ground between Broadway theatrics and rock passion, Seelbach's vocals cut through the eight-piece rock band that served as the orchestra — delivering a vibrant performance that stood well next to time-tested versions by Elton John and Who frontman Roger Daltrey.

If only the same could be said for Seelbach's colleagues, particularly Benjamin Cannon, who played Tommy's evil Cousin Kevin and the leader of the pinball lads who eventually make Tommy a star.

During the show's pre-intermission climax, a rousing rendition of "Pinball Wizard," feedback problems with Cannon's microphone — combined with singing that fell too far toward Broadway convention — robbed this number of the triumphant impact it truly needed.

Still, stacked next to the show's blockbuster entertainment value, such complaints seem like nitpicking. Packed with quality performances — from Tommy's earnestly dedicated mother (Erika Greene) to the gypsy Acid Queen role made famous by Tina Turner (here, it was an incendiary Tracey Lee) — Friday night's production dazzled.

By the time Tommy emerged from his willful deaf, dumb and blind state — his mother reached him by shattering a mirror, bringing a breathtaking rain of reflective faux glass shards — the audience was hooked. An impressive version of "I'm Free" followed, as Tommy revealed to his legions of fans the story's central irony: While they looked to him as an unreachable ideal, he only wanted to experience the world with the same fullness they took for granted.

Creators of this latest Tommy have crafted a tale that ably continues the musical's tradition, dancing on the fine line between rock spectacle and Broadway theatrics.