After Brief Run, ‘Tommy’ Revival Will End on Broadway

The Broadway revival of “The Who’s Tommy,” which opened in March, will conclude July 21. The show had started strong at the box office, but was facing declining sales during a summer when Broadway is full of shows but still has fewer spectators than before the pandemic.

The production, which enjoyed pre-Broadway success in Chicago, will now pin its hopes on a national tour, beginning in Providence, RI, in fall 2025.

With a rocking soundtrack by Pete Townshend, “Tommy” dates back to a 1969 Who album; the original Broadway production opened in 1993 and ran for just over two years.

Set in London, the series has a wild plot: a young man who loses the ability to hear, speak and see in response to childhood trauma develops a gift for pinball that allows him to attract an audience close to a sect.

The revival debuted last year at Chicago’s Goodman Theater; the Broadway production began previews on March 8 and opened on March 28 at the Nederlander Theater. Throughout April, the film grossed $1 million per week, but ticket sales have since slowed; last week, the show grossed $795,000.

By the time it closes, the revival will have played 20 previews and 132 regular performances on Broadway.

Des McAnuff, who directed the original production, returned to direct the revival. Townshend and McAnuff collaborated on the show’s book.

The revival, with Ali Louis Bourzgui in the title role, received mostly positive reviews, but The New York Times, which can have outsized influence, was an exception: Jesse Green, its chief theater critic, called the show of “relentless noise”. and banal images.

The production was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival Musical, but lost to “Merrily We Roll Along”.

“Tommy,” with Stephen Gabriel and Ira Pittelman as lead producers, was capitalized for $15.7 million, according to a spokesperson. This money has not been recovered.

The show is the third musical to announce a closing since the beginning of May, after “Lempicka” and “The Heart of Rock and Roll.”