“The Who’s Tommy” will return to Broadway in spring 2024. The musical revival will begin performances on March 8, 2024, ahead of an official opening of March 28 at the Nederlander Theatre. The production will mark a transfer of the 2023 Jeff Award-winning mounting from Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
Helmed by the musical’s original Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff, the revival is described as a reimagined version of the show, which first opened on Broadway in 1993. “The Who’s Tommy” features a Tony-winning score by Pete Townshend, who co-wrote the Tony-nominated book with McAnuff. The musical is an adaptation of the band The Who’s 1969 album of the same name, which — at the time — was described by critics as a rock opera.
“The Who’s Tommy” tells the story of Tommy Walker who, as a child, witnesses his father shoot his rival. Tommy turns inward and completely dissociates from the world around him, until his knack for pinball rockets him to celebrity status.
The revival’s creative team includes choreographer Lorin Latarro, music supervisor and arranger Ron Melrose, musical director and orchestrator Rick Fox, Tony Award-nominated scenic designer David Korins, Tony-nominated projection designer Peter Nigrini, Tony-nominated costume designer Sarafina Bush, lighting designer Amanda Zieve, Tony-winning sound designer Gareth Owen and wig and hair designer Charles LaPointe. Tripp Phillips will be production stage manager. Bespoke Theatricals will be general manager.
Casting, by Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, will be announced.
“In many ways, I think the world has caught up to Tommy Walker, which makes it exciting to revisit ‘The Who’s Tommy’ for a new generation who, possibly more than any other, has a broad appetite for all kinds of music and storytelling,” said McAnuff in a statement. “While the music remains as glorious as ever, our world years later is unimaginably and irrevocably changed. As a result, there’s so much more we all can recognize — and celebrate — in our protagonist’s evolution, as a collective deeper understanding of mental health has sharpened our lens.”
“In 1969, when I originally wrote ‘Tommy’ with The Who, nobody had ever written popular music songs about trauma, nobody talked about bullying, domestic sexual abuse was a subject that was virtually censored,” Townshend added. “Then, in 1993, working with Des on the staged theater piece, we broke the established rules for a musical show.”
Townshend continued, “Now, the current generation is breaking all of those rules again — and what Des has achieved with this incredible new production honors them and their courage and audacity.”
“The Who’s Tommy” is being produced on Broadway by Stephen Gabriel and Ira Pittelman.
