Las Vegas Weekly

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It’s electric, it’s anthemic and it’s rock ’n’ roll to its core. The Who’s Tommy contains some of rock’s best-known songs, and through the years it’s evolved from album to rock show to movie to Broadway musical. Now, Ragtag Entertainment is bringing the musical to Vegas as a “heightened rock show” at Ovation inside Green Valley Ranch.

“We’ve taken the trajectory of Tommy and we’ve made it a concert again,” director Troy Heard says. “We’ve stripped away the Broadway trappings, the ’40s time period, and we’ve made it a Tommy for the Green Day generation.”

In Heard’s staging it’s a rock show, with all the associated post-millenial trappings and spectacle, including integrated video and an emphasis on the performance of the song cycle. Musical director Roger Butterley understudied in the pit for Tommy on Broadway, and has put together a band to “amp the rock vibe.”

Musical theater purists needn’t feel left out. “There’s still the story, there’s still the arc,” Heard says—even if they’re making it more about the visceral emotions in the music. “This is a rock show for musical theater fans, and vice versa.”