The 2012 Great Neck South High School Musical
Music and Lyrics by Peter Townshend
Book By Peter Townshend and Des McAnuff
Peter Townshend’s tale of a young boy’s journey from pain to triumph is an
electrifying evening of rock and roll theatre! After witnessing the accidental
murder of his mother's boyfriend by his father, Tommy is traumatized into
catatonia, and as the boy grows, he suffers abuse at the hands of his relatives
and neighbors. As an adolescent, he’s discovered to have an uncanny knack for
playing pinball, and when his mother finally breaks through his catatonia, he
becomes an international pinball superstar. Featuring hit songs “Pinball
Wizard”, “Tommy Can You Hear Me”, “Amazing Journey”, and “Acid Queen”.
Auditions:
If you are interested in being in the CHORUS ONLY: Please show up on the first
day of auditions only. You will do some movement with Fran and then chat with
Dr. Levy. You do not need to attend the vocal auditions, acting auditions, or
callbacks, nor do you need to prepare any material in advance.
To be considered for a FEATURED ROLE: Please show up on all audition days with
material from the packet prepared. Packets will be available soon.
PLEASE NOTE:
1. Our production will do some gender-bending. Some roles usually played by
males may be played by females in this production. Please look at the
character descriptions carefully.
2. The film of TOMMY is not an accurate representation of the stage show.
You are not encouraged to watch it. The stage show is carefully crafted
to make clear the story using singing, movement/dance, and acting. The
film does not.
3. The Scene 7 Uncle Ernie Sequence “Do You Think it’s Alright” and “Fiddle
About” will be cut from this production.
4. This show’s ensemble is extensively featured and will require commitment.
TOMMY Character Descriptions:
MALE = To be played by a male
FEMALE = To be played by a female
MALE/FEMALE = Can be played by either a male or female.
Narrator/Adult Tommy, An embittered young genius. MALE
Captain Walker, Tommy's guilty father. MALE
Mrs. Walker, Tommy's weary mom. FEMALE
Tommy, age 4: child Tommy. CHILD
Tommy, age 10: preadolescent Tommy. MALE/FEMALE
Cousin Kevin, Tommy's evil babysitting cousin. A young, loutish nuisance. MALE
Uncle Ernie, Tommy's uncle. An opportunist bachelor. MALE
Sally Simpson, A typical teenybopper. FEMALE
The Boyfriend, Mrs. Walker's boyfriend, killed by Captain Walker. MALE
The Hawker(s), An unsavory street person(s). MALE/FEMALE
The Gypsy, An unsavory street woman. FEMALE
The Specialist, A very modern doctor who has new theories on how to cure Tommy. MALE/FEMALE
The Specialist’s Assistant, Assistant to the Doctor MALE/FEMALE
First and Second Local Lad/Lass, Pinball champs before Tommy (Pinball Wizard soloists), MALE/FEMALE
The Minister & The Minister’s Wife, Town Clergy. MALE and FEMALE
First and Second Officer, Break the news about Cpt. Walker to Mrs. Walker. MALE/FEMALE
Nurses, Deliver baby Tommy to Mrs. Walker. FEMALE
Judge and Barristers, Judge and lawyers that acquit Cpt. Walker of Murder. MALE/FEMALE
Mr. & Mrs. Simpson, Sally’s conservative parents. MALE AND FEMALE
Relatives, Relatives at Christmas including Kevin’s Parents. MALE AND FEMALE
Allied Soldiers, Britain’s soldiers in World War II. MALE AND FEMALE
DJ, A local Disk Jockey. MALE/FEMALE
Ensemble/Chorus:
Ground Crew, Flight Crew, R.A.F. Officers, Young English Women, Aide, Airborne Troops, German Foot
Soldiers, Allied Prisoners, German Guard, Police, Inspector, Military Officers, Constables, Doctors, Lab
Technicians, Hospital Staff, Church Choir, Barkeep, Psychiatrist, Psychiatrist's Assistant, Local Lads, Local
Lasses, Thugs, Reporters, Interviewer, Crowd
Detailed Synopsis
Act 1
Prologue
1940: Against the backdrop of World War II in London appears a montage of Captain and Mrs. Walker meeting, their
marriage, Captain Walker's deployment to parachute into Germany, and his capture and imprisonment in a Prisoner-ofwar camp ("Overture"). Back in London at 22 Heathfield Gardens, Uncle Ernie delivers a care package to his pregnant
sister-in-law just as two officers arrive to bring them the tragic news that Captain Walker is missing and presumed dead
("Captain Walker").
Scene One
1941: Two nurses gently hand Mrs. Walker her newborn son ("It's a Boy").
Scene Two
1945: American troops liberate Walker's POW camp, and tell him the war in Europe is over ("We've Won").
Scene Three
Believing her husband dead, Mrs. Walker has a new boyfriend, and they celebrate her twenty-first birthday and discuss
getting married together with now four-year-old Tommy. To their surprise, Captain Walker enters the house as Mrs.
Walker and her boyfriend embrace ("Twenty-One"). In shock, Mrs. Walker reaches out to touch him, but a fight erupts
between Walker and the boyfriend. Tommy is watching the fight, and Mrs. Walker turns him towards the mirror in
hopes of him not seeing the fight. Through the mirror, Tommy sees his father shoot dead his mother's new boyfriend.
Mr. and Mrs. Walker embrace, but soon realize what Tommy has witnessed, and violently shake him, telling him he
didn't see or hear anything ("What About the Boy"). The police arrive to investigate, while Tommy gazes at the mirror. A
narrator (Tommy's older self) appears, visible only to Tommy, and invites the audience to witness Tommy's journey
("Amazing Journey").
Scene Four
Captain Walker is tried for the boyfriend’s murder, but found not guilty by reasons of self-defense. However, the family
celebration dies down as they realize Tommy is now deaf, dumb, and blind, when he fails to show emotion towards his
father's release.
Scene Five
Mr. and Mrs. Walker take him to a hospital, where a battery of doctors and nurses, to no avail, examine Tommy
("Sparks"). 1950: Tommy is nearly ten years old but the narrator reiterates that his state remains the same ("Amazing
Journey (Reprise)").
Scene Six
1950: The Walkers take ten-year-old Tommy to church and host a family dinner ("Christmas"). Although they try to
enjoy the party, they can't help but think that Tommy doesn't know that it is Christmas or understand its meaning.
Everyone is stunned when Tommy responds to Uncle Ernie's playing the French Horn. Mr. Walker, in a desperate
attempt to reach his son, shouts "Tommy, can you hear me?" multiple times. Older Tommy, only visible to young
Tommy, sings to him. ("See Me, Feel Me").
Scene Eight
Tommy's parents leave him in the care of his cousin Kevin, who bullies the boy mercilessly ("Cousin Kevin"). Cousin
Kevin and his friends then take Tommy to a youth club where, to everyone's astonishment, he plays pinball brilliantly
("Sensation").
Scene Nine
Encouraged, the Walkers try yet another doctor, a psychiatrist, who tests Tommy without success ("Sparks (Reprise)").
Scene Ten
The desperate Mr. Walker is approached by The Hawker and Harmonica Player ("Eyesight to the Blind") who promise a
miraculous cure for Tommy. They take Mr. Walker and young Tommy to the Isle of Dogs to find The Gypsy.
Scene Eleven
The Gypsy tries to convince Mr. Walker to let her introduce him to the seedy underworld ("The Acid Queen"). Mr.
Walker, horrified by the Gyspy's methods, snatches the boy and runs away.
Scene Twelve
1958: The act ends as Cousin Kevin and a group of teenagers await 17-year-old Tommy's appearance at the amusement
arcade as his skills propel his rise to local popularity ("Pinball Wizard").
Act II
Underture
1960: Tommy has become the pinball champion and hero of the neighborhood lads. ("Underture").
Scene Thirteen
The father, still in search of a cure, convinces his wife to try once more ("There's a Doctor").
Scene Fourteen
They take Tommy to specialists ("Go to the Mirror!") for elaborate tests, but to no avail. The doctors discover that
Tommy's senses do work but are for some reason not processing what he sees or hears and that no one can free Tommy
from his catatonic state but himself.
Scene Fifteen
On the street a group of local louts surround Tommy ("Tommy, Can You Hear Me?") and carry him home.
Scene Sixteen
The parents, at their wits' end and considering having Tommy institutionalized, compassionately confront one another
("I Believe My Own Eyes"). Tommy stares into the mirror as his mother tries desperately to reach him one last time
("Smash the Mirror"). Out of rage, frustration, and desperation, she shatters the mirror that Tommy continually gazed at
for years. With the mirror in pieces, Tommy becomes conscious ("I'm Free") and leaves home.
Scene Seventeen
1961-1963: While his cure hits the news ("Miracle Cure"), Tommy is idolized by the public and the press ("Sensation
(Reprise)"), and begins appearing in stadiums, playing pinball with a helmet that temporarily blinds and deafens him
("Pinball Wizard (Reprise)").
Scene Eighteen
Uncle Ernie tries to capitalize on Tommy's newfound stardom, by selling Tommy souvenirs in a carnival-like setting
("Tommy's Holiday Camp").
Scene Nineteen
On the night of the grand opening party for Tommy's holiday camp, teenager Sally Simpson manages to sneak out of her
parents' home to attend Tommy's appearance. She gets on stage and tries to touch Tommy but in the commotion he
unknowingly pushes her off the stage, she falls and is pummeled by the guards ("Sally Simpson"). Tommy, in horror,
stops the show and tends to her.
Scene Twenty
Realizing how caught up in the celebrity machine he is due to the remarkable recovery of his senses, Tommy wishes to
do something in return for his fans and invites them all back to his house ("Welcome"). Once there, the fans grow and
grow in size, though Tommy wishes to make room for one and all. Sally then asks Tommy how she can be more like him
and less like herself ("Sally Simpson's Question"). He is confused, and insists that there is no reason for anyone to be like
him, when everyone else already possesses the gifts that he was deprived of most of his life. He suddenly realizes that
although he had thought his fame came from his miraculous recovery, it in fact arose because others hoped he would
assume the role of a kind of spiritual leader, based on his knowledge of what it is like not to hear, see, or communicate
for so long. Now, disenchanted with their hero for failing to provide the answers they wanted to be told, the crowd
turns on him and leaves ("We're Not Gonna Take It"). Tommy hears the voice of his ten-year-old self ("See Me, Feel
Me") and for a moment, to the horror of his family, seems to be reverting to his old state. But instead he turns to his
family, whom he has ignored during his stardom, embraces them in acceptance, and reunites with his younger selves
("Listening to You"). The entire ensemble joins him and his family on stage. After they all leave, the 4 year old Tommy,
10 year old Tommy, and adult Tommy dramatically end looking out in different directions.