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Tag Archive for 'Tommy'

Actor Brian Cerdelli reports back from the FTC/DHPAC production of Tommy

Published on March 16, 2010 in Community, Rock and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

DHPAC guest blogger: FTC student and actor Brian Cerdelli…

Brian Cerdelli as Uncle Ernie. Photo Copyright 2010 Ward Photography.

I played the roll of Uncle Ernie in The Who’s “Tommy” and I enjoyed the process very much. We had an amazing cast and crew working on the production, we had an amazing director (Adam Karsten), and we had amazing audiences every night of performances. There was nothing about anything we did as a cast, or any technical aspects of the show that I didn’t really enjoy. Although the run was only four shows, we will remember this experience for the rest of our lives, myself especially because I am a big fan of  The Who’s music and rock music in general. To do a rock opera for me personally was an amazing experience in itself. Thanks to everyone involved in making this show the amazing production it was, I will always cherish it.

-Brian Cerdelli

The Who’s Tommy was performed to sell-out audiences at DHPAC/Dix Hills Performing Arts Center at Five Towns College on March 11-14, 2010.

Tommy gets coverage in local press

Published on March 6, 2010 in Music, Performances, Rock and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Walt Whitman, age 28

DHPAC/Dix Hills Performing Arts Center is located in Dix Hills, in the Town of Huntington. One of the wonderful links to cultural history the town has, is that the newspaper which Long Island poet Walt Whitman founded in 1838, The Long Islander, is still in print in Huntington! The Five Towns College Theatre Department production of Tommy received great coverage in The Long Islander, as well as in its sister newspaper, The Half Hollow Hills Newspaper.

Will Rivera ("Tommy" in the FTC/DHPAC production)

But…like many good things… you can’t find the article on line. It is only available in the print edition. So, FTC/DHPAC is not only famous, we are an exclusive! I will tell you that the title of the article is, “Rock Tour De Force Rivets Five Towns”, and it features an awesome publicity shot of Will Rivera as Tommy and Kiley MacDonald as Tommy’s mother, Mrs. Walker. You can find the listing: here. And, you can get the paper at local businesses. (Or, see a copy of the article posted in the hallway at Five Towns College.)

The Who’s Tommy: The Musical, will be playing at DHPAC March 11-14th. Ticket link is: here.

Tommy: Scenes from the set

Published on March 5, 2010 in Music and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Can’t wait for the Five Towns College Theatre Department’s presentation of The Who’s Tommy…just a few days away…opening night is Thursday, March 11th.

Since Five Towns College [FTC] is full of theatre, music, and audio technology students, it is easy to expect great things from FTC productions, including set design. Add into the mix that Tommy is directed by Professor Adam Karsten, who is known for his stylish productions, and you can expect a big WOW! for the Tommy set.

Here are some of the images in progress, that I collected on three different days of the set going up:


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- Continue reading ‘Tommy: Scenes from the set’

The Who’s Tommy: FTC student and actress Kiley McDonald explains the music

Published on March 1, 2010 in Music, Performances, Rock and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

I heard from the Box Office that tickets are going fast for our March 11-14 (Thurs., Fri., Sat., and  Sunday matinee) showing of Tommy: The Musical. Continue reading ‘The Who’s Tommy: FTC student and actress Kiley McDonald explains the music’

New Tommy video: Straight from The Sound/Video Crew

Published on February 26, 2010 in Music, Performances, Rock and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Continue reading ‘New Tommy video: Straight from The Sound/Video Crew’

Everyone’s excited about Tommy

Published on February 21, 2010 in Music and Theatre. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

Professor/Director Adam Karsten and a cast of dozens of Five Towns College students are currently rehearsing to perform the musical Tommy at DHPAC on March 11, 12, 13 and 14.(I will post video with rehearsal clips here soon.)

Tonight, the rest of the world was watching a medley of Tommy songs, on a VH1 special, classics rerun of a 2008 tribute to The Who. Did you see it? It was pretty cool, with performances by Pearl Jam, The Foo Fighters, and Adam Sandler. Flaming Lips did the Tommy medley. The link to the VH1 page, with lots of videos to view is: here. A video of the Tommy medley is below. (Well, commercial first, sorry.)

We hope that if you liked seeing a Who tribute on tv, you will be even more excited to come see our live, local tribute. Imagine, a chance to see the 1993 Tony Award winning rock musical by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff, performed right here in Long Island.

One night: Two great things happening at DHPAC

Published on February 19, 2010 in Comedy, Community, Music, Performances, Rock and Theatre. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Only at DHPAC! Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing John Blenn’s comedy, “Better Hue”, on stage, on the opening night of a world premiere. Lots of great moments, and lots to think about concerning life, office politics, and motivational speakers. And…

On the same night, at overlapping times, in a studio off of another hallway, I was able to tape a rehearsal of the musical Tommy. The show is about 3 weeks away, and I found the actors to be comfortable in their roles enough to move me. It was also very surreal to be in a room with twenty-something twenty-year-olds doing rock harmonies. For rehearsal, there is no band, just a piano and the voices. I think it gave the music an almost angelic feel. And, I have decided that The Who should consider re-recording their rock opera Tommy a cappella.

I am excited about the footage I took of the Tommy rehearsal, of some Tommy cast members, and of writer/director/professor John Blenn. It is downloading right now onto my other computer. I will try to get some video up this weekend. And, besides all of that action and productivity, I had one more great experience at DHPAC/Dix Hills Performing Arts Center…

There is a couple who my husband and I know from the folk music and poetry scene. They are very into culture, and we often run into them at very exciting events, and sometimes, in unexpected places. We always tell them that we are honored to see them, because if we are where they are, we are in the coolest place. So…tonight, I ran into them on the way out of the theater doors from Better Hue. So, it’s official: DHPAC/Five Towns College was the cool place to be tonight. (If you missed it tonight, there are still two more chances to see John Blenn’s play this weekend. And, the musical Tommy begins Thursday, March 11th.)

The Who’s Tommy — at the Superbowl Sunday night: at DHPAC in March.

Published on February 7, 2010 in Guitar, Music, Music History, Performances and Rock. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Ki writes:

Well, we aren’t really going to have The Who on stage. Though, we are excited to be performing The Who’s Tommy, the 1993 Tony Award winning rock musical based on the 1969 double album rock opera, Tommy. Our show is coming up in March (tickets available now: here.)

I am not a football fan. So, of all things, I learned this bit of synchronicity today, that The Who would be playing at the halftime show at the Superbowl. And it is reported that they will play a mash-up which will include “Pinball Wizard” and the finale from Tommy. Continue reading ‘The Who’s Tommy — at the Superbowl Sunday night: at DHPAC in March.’