Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   "The Who's Tommy" 8 tonight, Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. Shows at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 7:30 p.m. on selected Tuesdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through July 15. $22 to $44, 425-257-8600, 888-257-3722, www.villagetheatre.org   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, June 29, 2007 The Pinball Wizard comes to Everett By Theresa Goffredo, Herald Writer It was back another universe ago in 1968 when Pete Townshend of The Who first publicly spoke in a Rolling Stone interview about making a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind kid. For some of you out there, you won't know Townshend or The Who or what a phenomenon those British rockers caused here in the States. The Who helped to revolutionize rock and roll with synthesized sound and the simple use of a French horn. They were, in fact, a sensation, with hits such as "Magic Bus," "Substitute" and "Happy Jack." They launched what was unheard of back then, a concept album, and called it "Tommy." Fast forward to today, actually tonight, when that concept album is performed as a rock opera at the Everett Performing Arts Center. That deaf, dumb and blind kid named Tommy lives on. It's cliche to say that the themes of this rock opera live on, too. So be it. But as long as we're listening to songs by The Who about disenfranchised youth, these themes will remain trendy. Tommy is a youngster whose life is altered by witnessing a tragic event. He is screamed at by adults as to what to think and feel and believe, and Tommy responds by fleeing inward. After abusive encounters with weird Uncle Ernie and brutish Cousin Kevin, Tommy becomes a pinball wizard. Eventually, Tommy can see and hear again, but loses his sensational status as an outcast. The musical "Tommy" premiered in 1992 in California and went on to Broadway for a 1993 opening. Tonight's version, brought to us by Village Theatre, will cast a modern cloak on the action because the story will unfold through the eyes of a skateboarder from 2007 who discovers The Who's music. Village Theatre promised and delivered on a rock opera that is constantly in motion with a multimedia spectacle of rock music, lights, projections and revolving stage. There's hardly any dialogue and the show races from one scene to the next. "Tommy" does what Village Theatre promised: It rocks. Arts writer Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com. Jay Koh photos for Village Theatre Michael K. Lee as Tommy performs with the ensemble in Village Theatre's production of "The Who's Tommy." Jennifer Paz (center) and the ensemble in "The Who's Tommy." "The Who's Tommy" 8 tonight, Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. Shows at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 7:30 p.m. on selected Tuesdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through July 15. $22 to $44, 425-257-8600, 888-257-3722, www.villagetheatre.org

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