Paul Dukas / The Who’s Tommy

On this day in classical music: Paul Dukas’ ballet “La Peri” was premiered in Paris in 1912. Listen to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra perform the well-known fanfare. Jesus Lopez-Cobos conducts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXJxHXe9FeQ 

On this day in the musical theatre: Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff struck gold with their musical “Tommy,” a rock musical based on The Who’s 1969 rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind boy who becomes a pinball wizard. “Tommy” won five Tony Awards, including one for best musical score. In a rare tie, Townshend shared the best score award with John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”  

Theatrical musings: (With ‘Tommy’), the deaf-dumb-and-blindness becomes a metaphor, if you like, for that dynamic between confrontation and escape that goes on at the moment of teenage rebellion, which is what rock and roll is about. As a teenager, you’re never alone, ever. You’re never responsible for yourself. Whether you confront, whether you escape, whether you stay or whether you go — in the words of the Clash — the critical moment for you as a teenager is when you realize you’re on your own. With ‘Tommy,’ I realized I had invented a new kind of hero — a hero with nowhere to go. A hero with no potential for heroism, a hero who only had what we all have, which is life stretching out before him. That’s the moment that you end up at in the play. You end up with Tommy at that great rock and roll moment. – Pete Townshend

Thank you for joining our conversation on Articulations. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.