TOMMY: The Campus Review

If you’ll remember , I was contracted to play in “The Band” for the Clarence Brown production of TOMMY. I know, I know… you play Horn. “You’re not a Rocker Robert! ”

Anyway, the production finished up it’s first week and is about to start up its second. (Shows run Wednesday through Sunday for the next two weeks) And, it appears the show has gotten it’s first review. This one comes from the Daily Beacon (The University of Tennessee’s Paper) and it’s not too bad.

Here’s a snip:

…Still, there are few things more boring than a big, fluffy production with no substance. Fortunately, “Tommy” delivers in terms of song and story as well as scope. As much of a star as any of the cast members, a genuinely rocking, professional band ushers the audience along this wacky, psychedelic, yet somehow touching rags-to-riches-to-rags narrative. Although they occasionally rush some of the compositions and don’t exude the rebellious rock personae as much as they’d like to think (ear plugs were unnecessarily given out before the curtain went up), this surrogate Who completed the nearly impossible task of doing justice to the source material (even the drummer succeeded in not massacring the incomparable Keith Moon’s spastic fills)…

Well, let’s see, we rush and aren’t Rocker enough… I take that last part to mean it wasn’t loud enough. I CAN play louder… Ask anyone. If that’s all it takes to “exude the rebellious rock personae” then I’m all there. Of course, I think the sound guy will go into fits. 😛 Anyway, not a bad review overall, I think. The show will get better, only 11 more to go! If you’re in town, come see the show. I think you’ll enjoy it!

Click here if you’d like to read the rest of the review from the Daily Beacon.

© 2009, Robert Owen. All rights reserved.