We love Tommy.

Audience members love Tommy.

And then there are reviewers…

Actually, the Clarence BrownTheatre production has received some great reviews from The Knoxville News-Sentinel  and The UT Daily Beacon.  Now, Kieron Barry writing in Metropulse  joins the chorus.  He says in part:

Director Sams serves also as choreographer, and it is here that her gifts truly come alive, with ensemble dancing that is high-spirited and rugged yet wholly disciplined. The most outstanding moments are those using wires, and Jonathan Visser’s Tommy is given almost carte blanche with these. His early flight to the roof by hanging onto a small balloon is but a prelude to the balletic, hypnotic extravagances of the second act.

Visser once again proves himself an actor worth watching. He happens to have a strong resemblance to Conan O’Brien, and indeed shares a manic, twitchy alertness with the comedian, which he uses here to his advantage, most especially in the climax to Act One, when, pinball-bound at last, he jerks and tremors in endless tactile frisson.

It is “Pinball Wizard,” of course, that is the high point of Tommy, and the pedalled crescendo in the build-up to this song is as unbearably exciting as anything by Rossini. The music reaches its apotheosis when the most famous phrase in the show is sung with unbelievable intensity by the leering, mohawked Quinn Q. Cason. Here he is given just a few syllables, but the effect is mesmerizing.

For all its minor flaws, the show is a glorious, messy, lovable production that is so strongly felt and urgently delivered that it’s difficult not to be won over by the sheer passion of the artists and the grandiosity of its vision. It’s the first show I’ve seen in the Clarence Brown that makes the space seem too small.

The Who’s Tommy  runs through May 3.  Tickets are still available for most performances — call the Clarence Brown Theatre Box Office at (865) 974-5161 or online at http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com/.

June Adamson has passed away.

Ms. Adamson was a longtime faculty member in the School of Journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville — I met her in class!  I was a Broadcasting major and not really that interested in the (newspaper oriented) News Writing course I was required to take, but I came to appreciate from her how carefully choosing words can make the difference between copying a police report and telling a meaningful story about people, no matter what the medium.  I also appreciated her sharing some of the tough times in her own life.

After I returned to UT to work at the Clarence Brown Theatre, I was happy to find that she was a season subscriber, although she was not able to attend recently.

She will be missed, but remembered.

Here’s a story about her in the UT Daily Beacon.

According to this article in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Ghost Town in the Sky theme park in Maggie Valley, NC is holding a job fair this Saturday, April 25.

Ghost Town in the Sky will also be holding auditions for singers and dancers to perform at the park. Singers and dancers should arrive by 10:30 a.m., and auditions will be held at the Silver Dollar Saloon until 1:30 p.m. Those auditioning should be prepared to spend about three hours in the process. Transportation will be provided to and from Silver Dollar Saloon and the Welcome Center.

Dancers should bring comfortable dance attire, a resume, a headshot photograph and should be able to perform a split, cartwheel and a double turn. Singers should bring music and/or a short accompaniment CD. An accompanist will be provided.

Auditions for bands, actors and instrumentalists will be held later, and those with questions on the singing or dancing positions may call the park’s Entertainment Department at 828-926-1140, extension 316.

More information about the theme park can be found at www.ghosttowninthesky.com.

Today’s (Apr. 21, 2009) edition of the UT Daily Beacon  has a story about my son, Roger W. Hoover!

He was interviewed by Staff Writer Krisitan Smith after his recent recognition as one of the Top 20 Best Student Sportcasters in the U.S.

Smith quotes several authorities about Roger’s success:

Jon Chelesnik, CEO of STAA, said the Top 20 sportscasters program was the “equivalent of the Heisman trophy in college football.” He said Hoover was chosen for many reasons, including his writing and talent for broadcasting.

“He tells me what’s at stake in a ballgame,” Chelesnik said. “He adds drama to the game.”

Chelesnik commented on Hoover’s controlled energy.

“Many young, inexperienced broadcasters get too into the game and start screaming, but Hoover was never over the top,” Chelesnik said.

And of course, there were the early days when his mother and I indoctrinated him in the ways of the Chicago Cubs, as he sat in his wind-up swing in front of the TV as Harry Caray helped pass the afternoons away…

More great reviews keep coming in for the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of The Who’s Tommy.  Monday’s UT Daily Beacon  features a review by Ben Whiteside, “Play uses spectacle to captivate“:

The Clarence Brown Theatre is ending the 2008-2009 season with a bang with its stage production of The Who’s 1969 magnum opus “Tommy.”

The Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted rock opera tells the story of the blind, deaf and dumb Tommy Walker, his troubled childhood, and his pinball- and miracle cure-aided ascent to greatness. This production provides some spectacular eye candy, fantastic and faithful renditions of The Who’s original music, and plenty of reasons to yell and cheer.

“Tommy,” one of the four “Main Stage Productions” of the season (five smaller productions took place in the adjacent Carousel or Lab Theatres), is truly a spare-no-expense outing for the Clarence Brown Theatre. With a total of no fewer than 32 cast members, a full rock band, elaborate set design (including an on-stage video camera and several projectors and screens used in conjunction to fantastic effect) and several instances of high-flying wired suspension in addition to many other exciting extravagances, “Tommy” will certainly not disappoint fans of spectacle.

…

“Tommy” is unquestionably the most technically impressive, fun and exciting production of the Clarence Brown Theatre’s ’08-’09 season. It is epic in scope and has great music and plenty of fantastic visuals to keep you engaged. If you haven’t gotten the chance to see any of the productions in this nearly impeccable season, please do yourself a favor and check this one out. Bring your friends, family, co-workers, significant other(s) — whatever, just get there. You won’t be disappointed.

We’re still going through our show photos, but we’ll include another one here to whet your interest:

The Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of The Who’s Tommy  is receiving thunderous applause and glowing reviews.

Here’s a sample from Harold Duckett in the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

“The Who’s ‘Tommy’” is banging the rafters and literally rising up into them at the Clarence Brown Theatre through May 3. It opened Friday.

Pete Townshend’s song cycle about the traumatization and ultimate redemption of Tommy, after a decade of being deaf, mute and blind, hits every lick under Casey Sams’ direction and in Christopher Pickart’s inventively industrial set.

Tickets are still available for most performances — Call The Clarence Brown Theatre Box Office at 974-5161 or order online!

It’s the time of the year when the flowers are blooming, leaves are coming out, and the Clarence Brown Theatre is unveiling its upcoming 2009-2010 Season!  Today is the big day for changing the big banners on the front of the building to those for next season’s lineup.

(To order season tickets, use https://www.uttheatre.org/order).

As you can see from the poster in the foreground, we still have our finale for the 2008-2009 Season to run through May 3 — The Who’s Tommy.  We’re finishing in style while look forward to next year!

At long last, we’ve posted our Flyin’ West  show photographs on flickr.

You can see them all in a slideshow here, or as a set here.

And, of course, you can go to our photos page here on our Intranet to see those photographs and many more!

Why am I (rogerchoover) now on Twitter?

Because so many of you are, or soon will be.  Plus, of course, it’s kinda cool and fun, but more importantly, allows one to collect and/or disseminate information very very quickly and easily.

There is of course the great possibility of time wasting there, and some who tweet only of what they’re eating and wondering what shampoo to buy, but the key here is choosing who you follow and what you choose to share with others about what you’re doing.

I may share some personal happenings from time to time (yes, I am human), but a lot of what I will likely tweet will be things relating to what I’m doing on the job — relating to our ticket sales at the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee. 

One of the interesting about this social networking tool is that as you are followed and you follow others, your circle of “friends” expands as those with like interests select each other.  Synergies can happen…

Just in case you don’t know much about Twitter, here are a couple of articles from TechCrunch’s Erick Schenfeld that should shed some light:

It’s Official: Twitter Is More Popular Than Britney

How popular is it? More popular than “britney.” Twitter surpassed “Britney” a few months ago, and has even caught up to “Obama” (actually it is slightly ahead right now), according to Google Trends. That is remarkable, given that Britney was one of the most searched for words of all last year. Still, maybe the switch says more about her than about Twitter. (Obama’s popularity as a search term has come down to more reasonable levels after huge spikes last November and during the inauguration).

Boom! Twitter More Than Doubles Unique U.S. Visitors to 9.3 Million in March

If it seems like Twitter is growing faster and faster each day, that is because it is. ComScore has released its March numbers for the U.S., and it estimates that unique visitors to Twitter.com grew 131 percent between February and March to 9.3 million visitors. No wonder Twitter is more popular than Britney.

Not only did Twitter more than double the number of people that go to its site in a single month, but it accelerated its growth from the 55 percent rate it experienced in February. These numbers do not include international visitors, nor do they include all the usage on desktop and mobile clients, which is significant in Twitter’s case. But it is a useful proxy.

We’ll see how it goes — whether it’s just the latest booming fad, or has a real lasting influence.

If you like, you can follow Roger C. Hoover (that’s me!)

As we prepare to open the Clarence Brown Theatre production of Tommy, here’s a nice radio commercial to enjoy and share with your friends: 

Play Tommy  commercial

Other stories concerning this production: 

From The Tennessee Journalist

From Tennessee Today (UT Staff/Faculty E-Newsletter):

The Who’s Tommy at the Clarence Brown Theatre Now Through May 3  

An evening of electrifying theatre and maximum rock and roll, The Who’s Tommy will run at the Clarence Brown Theatre from April 16 through May 3. The show is based on The Who’s 1969 double album Tommy by Pete Townshend. The first musical work to be billed as a rock opera, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its “historical, artistic and significant” value. The production is sponsored by Schaad Companies.