Pinball Wizard Comes to JCC

The Pinball Wizard is back.

The J*Company Youth Theatre launches its season in tribute to the with one of the Tony Award-winning theater’s most electrifying successes: The Who’s Tommy.

“The season was my brainchild,” says J*Company artistic director Joey Landwehr. “And the Playhouse jumped on it.”

The Playhouse asked that he try to show the breadth of the theater’s work from its various artistic directors. So, the three main productions, jointly agreed on, are The Who’s Tommy (originally helmed by Des McAnuff), Thoroughly Modern Millie (launched at the Playhouse during the brief tenure of Annie Hamburger) and Xanadu (created by current Playhouse artistic director Christopher Ashley).

In The Who’s wildly influential 1969 double-album, the world’s first rock opera, Tommy witnesses a murder and is told by his parents, “You didn’t see it, you didn’t hear it; you won’t say nothing to no one.”

Traumatized by the event and that admonition, Tommy becomes deaf, dumb and blind. In that fragile state, he’s subjected to the abuse of his Uncle Ernie (eliminated from Landwehr’s production), the bullying of his nasty cousin Kevin and a visit to the Gypsy Queen (the Acid Queen in the original album and the all-star 1975 film). After he discovers his amazing skill at pinball, people begin following him as a guru.

“He doesn’t understand why everyone wants to be like him,” Landwehr says. “He just wants to be like them –normal. They’ve put him on a pedestal, but he’s just a little boy who happens to be lucky in some way; one of the Justin Biebers of the world. Ultimately, he comes to understand this, and comes to grips with his past. At the end, there’s hope for the future, for Tommy and his family.

“I feel like our version is very family-friendly,” Landwehr continues, “But in some ways darker than other productions, even without the sex and drugs of the original.”

He considers the show to be appropriate for all ages, but suggests that it’s best for those over age 10.  

The cast of 47 (“a small one for me,” Landwehr quips) ranges in age from 10 to 19, and benefits from the choreographic expertise of Roxane Carrasco who, as a UCSD student, performed in the original La Jolla Playhouse production (1992).

Landwehr adds a learning experience to each of his shows. Last year, during rehearsals for the musical 13, he provided extensive anti-bullying training. This time, prep involved “a sensory deprivation study."

"We covered their eyes and stopped up their ears, and put a tongue depressor in their mouths,” he reports. “Then we did trust exercises, and talked about how it would be to live without certain senses. It brought new insight to the story of ‘Tommy.’”

Landwehr describes “a huge, elaborate set and fantastic costumes,” but he’s perhaps most thrilled about his eight-piece onstage rock band.

“The music is absolutely phenomenal,” says the J*Company director. “The show is rarely done, and this is the first youth theater production of Tommy in San Diego. The kids are ecstatic, and the parents are excited to relive the music and story, and watch their kids experience it for the first time.”

The Who’s Tommy runs from Dec. 3-11, at the , 4126 Executive Dr., La Jolla.

Performances are Saturdays at 8 p.m, and Sundays at 1 and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $14-$16. lfjcc.org; 858-362-1348.

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