The Who’s Tommy. Absence of vocal clarity creates a cacophony of sound.
Photo: Alan Dean.
Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff. Music and lyrics by Pete Townshend.Additional music and lyrics by John Entwhistle and Keith Moon. Orpheus Musical Theatre Society
Tommy, can you hear me? Too often, we cannot hear your story with any clarity. Instead, we are bombarded with a cacophony of sound. Although we see interesting projections, bright lights and colours, we cannot distinguish the words, whether spoken or sung.
Despite — or perhaps because of — the high decibel level of the Orpheus Musical Theatre Society production of The Who’s Tommy, there are only a few occasions when there is any vocal clarity in musical numbers or speeches throughout the rock opera.
While director Michael Gareau’s production is well conceived and, there are some excellent moments, particularly in the early sequences, presentation is frequently dogged by ongoing sound issues. Additional confusion is created when the young and then the adult Tommy sit cross-legged rocking repeatedly in a movement most often associated with some forms of autism. (The catatonic state that is supposed to be Tommy’s situation is more usually described as involving no motion at all.)
