Make time to see 'Tommy,' 'The Winter's Tale'

Time matters this week on Playhouse Square -- not only thematically but factually, as in the matter of time left to catch "Tommy" or "The Winter's Tale" before their short runs come to an end. 'Tommy' The 2024 Broadway revival of "The Who's Tommy, The Musical," making its national tour debut this week on Playhouse Square, is so mesmerizing and electrifying, it's a wonder why this stellar incarnation had only a relatively short four-month run on Broadway. Some critics have suggested that while 1969's "Tommy" remains among the Holy Grail of iconic rock moments for baby boomers, its incarnation as a Broadway musical in today's theater world has limited appeal for younger, newer audiences. That would certainly be their loss, considering the transcendent music and drama that director Des McAnuff, who won five Tony awards for the original 1993 Broadway production, conceptualizes for the live stage. (Unfortunately, the 2024 version was nominated only for Best Revival of a Broadway Musical, which went instead to "Merrily We Roll Along.") For the 2024 revival, McAnuff and legendary Who performer Pete Townshend added much clarity to the unspoken storyline about a young boy rendered deaf, dumb and blind by an emotional tragedy when his WWII veteran father, presumed dead, returns home to find his wife ready to marry another man and shoots him during a scuffle. This time, added dialogue helps frame the iconic songs -- "Pinball Wizard," "See Me, Feel Me / Listening to You," "I'm Free," "Acid Queen," "We're Not Gonna Take It," et al -- into a satisfyingly palpable narrative that should sustain fascination for all generations. Townshend also tweaks his own score, excising only one popular song -- "Tommy's Holiday Camp," no doubt because it seems to exonerate the camp's proprietor, who also happens to be Tommy's child-molesting uncle -- but adds new songs by John Entwistle and Sonny Boy Willliamson II, which fill in the nicely tweaked plotline. As opposed to the original album, which left many counterculture devotees second-guessing the actual transcendental storyline of an unlikely pinball champion, or the iconic star-studded Ken Russell film, which was one big psychedelic party full of pinball superstar glitter-rock imagery, the Broadway version focuses on dark emotional matters of psychological trauma and the dangers of idol worship becoming fascistic idolatry. Indeed David Korins' scenic design and Peter Nigrini's otherworldly projections create a futuristic dystopia of mostly black and white -- adding what seems to be visual references to cell phones and tablets -- with only occasional bursts of color for needed psychedelic punctuation. Sarafina Bush's costumes brilliantly mix period references to the 1940s and beyond while portending the eventual futuristic final scenes. All of this is mesmerizingly held together with the constant dramatic and lucid choreography of Lorin Latarro. But all of these production qualities would not work nearly as well were it not for the commanding performances of the stars, not the least of whom are Colin Matthew in the title role, Mia Bergstrom as his mother, Zach Fogel as the father, Kyle McFalls as the creepy bully cousin, Peyton Cassity as the molesting uncle and Kris Lyons as the Acid Queen (who well evokes Tina Turner from the film version). They not only deliver powerful rock-star vocals, their acting abilities command the broad stage as well as the close-up intricacies of projections. The production certainly makes its mark with the thunderously applauding Playhouse Square audience full of boomers. But this production should certainly also be savored by Generations X, Y, Z and beyond. 'A Winter's Tale' Repertory theater companies often run two productions concurrently with the same cast. Great Lakes Theater seems to be following that precedent with mounting one of William Shakespeare's most split-personality works in his legendary cannon. That's not usually an advantage for most theater companies. "The Winter's Tale" begins as a deep emotional drama-tragedy and wind's up a head-scratching second-act farce, only having to meld all moods and themes in some semblance of cohesion by the end. The first act sinks quickly into psychological tragedy when King Leontes of Sicilia (brilliantly played by Nick Steen with the right tinge of madness) suspects his visiting lifelong friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia (a compelling Derek Garza) of having an affair with his pregnant wife, Queen Hermione (brimming with a unique mix of innocence and sophistication). Leontes, in an abrupt, irrational fit of jealousy, orders his courtier (insightfully played by Ian Gould) to poison Polixenes. The courtier helps Polixenes flee instead. Enraged, Leontes throws pregnant Hermione into prison, where she has a baby girl, who is banished to the wilderness, while Hermoine and her young son apparently die. The courtier leaves the baby on the coast of Bohemia, naming her Perdita ("the lost one"), who magically survives as the poor courtier is mauled and eaten by a bear (in Shakespeare's most notorious stage direction: "Exit, pursued by a bear"). A local shepherd and his son find the baby alongside a chest of gold and raise her. The dramatic shift in time is brilliantly evoked in a white-cloaked chorus. But the shift in tone is rather less brilliantly navigated by otherwise energetic director Tracy Young, as the production goes from something like "Hamlet" to something more like "A Midsummer Night's Dream." This seems to be where Great Lakes Theater succumbs to the fate endured by most other productions of "The Winter's Tale." Rather than take on the Quixotic task of stylistically melding the two acts, Young jumps headfirst into embracing the stylistic clash of acts. This is most physically notable when Alex Jaeger's observant first-act costumes become virtual clown couture, and the style and pace seem to emulate this visual concept. The only stylistic cohesion is managed by scenic designer William Boles, whose back-lit wood-paneled curved contemporary backdrop well serves both acts (as well as a Home Depot display). It's jarring, to be sure, but at least it keeps the audience on their toes -- and later on their feet for a de rigeur standing ovation. Still, the real point is that a Cleveland theater at least takes on difficult Shakespeare, and the company proves once again to have the acting chops to bring Shakespeare to life -- as chaotic as that life might sometimes be. Contact Howard Gollop at howieeg@gmail.com.