Brian Purcell directs the Los Angeles staging that also features Nona Hendryx as the Acid Queen, Aleks Pevec as Tommy, Jenna Leigh Green as Sally Simpson, Tom Schmid as Captain Walker and Hank Adams as Uncle Ernie. Lorenzo Doryon plays ten-year-old Tommy, and LJ Benet plays the four-year-old Tommy. (For more information go to thewhostommy.com.)
The cast also includes PJ Griffith (as Cousin Kevin), Ronny Drayton (The Hawker), Douglas Crawford, Daniel Guzman, Leah Seminario, Clifton Oliver, Erin Stoddard, John B Willaford, Kyle Vaughn, Salvatore Vassallo, Kim Lesley, Anna Schnaitter, Gakenia Muigai, Julius Anthony Rubio, Emmie Nagata, Jamie Joseph, Kelly Allen and Christina Harding.
The Who's Tommy was based on the concept album "Tommy" by the British rock group The Who. The story centers on an alienated, abused child who, despite having lost his sight, speech and hearing at an early age, becomes a pinball wizard and youth culture icon. The Who's Pete Townshend adapted the work for the stage with director Des McAnuff.
Here's a first look at the production:
All photos by Ryan Miller.