The Who’s Tommy musical is closing on Broadway after ticket sales dwindled.
The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Pete Townshend, started as a concept album in 1969 and debuted on Broadway in 1993 – and followed the titular Tommy, a pinball wizard who cannot hear, speak, or see due to childhood trauma.
Last year, it was announced a reimagined revival was coming in 2024 from Townshend and director Des McAnuff. However, it’s now been announced that Tommy is closing on Broadway after four months.
Despite a successful pre-Broadway run, ticket sales tapered quickly when the musical left Chicago for New York. Having opened in March, the final performance is reportedly set for July 21.
Once the musical has officially closed, it will have played 132 Broadway performances and 20 previews, the revenue from which won’t offset the $15.7million budget.
Commentators have pointed to a larger issue with ticket sales on Broadway, particularly as The Heart Of Rock And Roll, the jukebox musical based on Huey Lewis And The News songs, last week closed after just two months.
However, similarly music oriented productions, such as the loosely Fleetwood Mac inspired Stereophonic and the Sufjan Stevens adaptation of Illinois, are comparatively faring well.
Tommy is now set to go on a national tour, starting in the autumn of 2025 in Rhode Island.
Elsewhere, Townshend has opened up about the future of The Who, telling NME: “I can’t really see the point of making a big deal of [last Who shows], apart from the fact that it might help sell a few tickets.
“When we started the last US tour the year before last, some of the seats were not filled. An easy way to fill seats is to say ‘We’re not coming back’ or ‘This could be the last set of shows’. What I would prefer was that the band adjusted itself to the audience that wants to see it, rather than just saying ‘We need to fill arenas in order to go home with enough money to make the whole thing worthwhile’. The story of the end of The Who is gonna be when either Roger [Daltrey] or I drop dead or can’t function anymore on the stage.”
Daltrey has shared similar frustrations with touring, and recently claimed he was “fucking sick” of fans researching setlists before concerts.
