Band Director: Ms. Marci Veenstra

Lionette Director: Ms. Bonnie Givens

Drum Majors:
  Jamie Hall
  Bernadette Morgan
  Chad Temple

FBA Overall Rating: Superior

Musical Selections:
  Tommy Overture
   Eyesight To The Blind
   I'm Free
   Pinball Wizard
  

Show Background:

Set against the backdrop of World War II London, Mrs. Walker learns that her husband is presumed dead in the war. Soon after she gives birth to their son Tommy. Four years later, Captain Walker is freed from a POW camp and returns home to find his wife celebrating her birthday with her new lover and four-year-old son. When the lover attacks Captain Walker as an intruder, Tommy's father shoots the man in self-defense, unaware that Tommy is watching the murder in the reflection of a mirror. They tell Tommy, "you didn't hear it, you didn't see it, you won't say nothing to no one ever in your life..." Those words have tragic consequences as Tommy stares off into his own reflection. Although Captain Walker is acquitted, Tommy is traumatized by what he has seen and heard. He is left deaf, dumb and blind by the events of that night. The journey to recovery takes Tommy through a series of adventures involving his lewd and corrupt Uncle Ernie, a prostitute called "the Gypsy" and his cruel Cousin Kevin. Tommy is eventually led to the sights and sounds of a pinball arcade. It is here, among the flashing lights and throbbing sounds that Tommy achieves notoriety for playing pinball -- perfectly. He is an overnight sensation, the Pinball Wizard. As Tommy's fame grows as a pinball champion, his parents continue to hope for a cure. When Tommy finally breaks through his wall of silence, his "miracle cure" becomes sensationalized in the press and Tommy is hailed as the new messiah for his generation. His stardom overflows and everyone wants to be like him -- the original deaf, dumb and blind boy. But, all Tommy ever wanted was to be like them - able to hear, talk and see. Angry at his inability to provide them with the immediate deliverance they seek, his followers abandon him. Tommy is left with his family and himself, whole, again. "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me." Tommy's words echo throughout his search for himself and recovery. All Tommy wants is to be like the rest of us. If we look hard enough in that mirror, we can find a part of Tommy in each of us.