Pete Townshend and his wife Rachel Fuller attended the American debut of the explosive new dance production – Quadrophenia, a Rock Ballet, which premiered at the New York City Center last Friday and ran for four performances over November 14-16.
The New York show featured many of the same cast and crew as the Sadler’s Wells production of Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet that toured around the UK last summer. The title was changed to better suit the American audience.
The stunning musical arrangement of The Who's 1973 classic rock album Quadrophenia was orchestrated by Rachel Fuller and Martin Bachelar, and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The music sets up the powerful backdrop for this modern dance production which was directed by Rob Ashford and beautifully choreographed by the late Paul Roberts. The costumes were designed by legendary 60's Mod clothes designer Paul Smith.
The lead characters in the production were performed by Paris Fitzpatrick as Jimmy, Adam Garcia and Kate Tydman as Jimmy’s parents, Dan Baines as the Ace Face, Serena McCall and Taela Yeoman-Brown as the Mod Girls, and Ansel Elgort, making his professional dance debut as the Godfather.
In the opening night performance, Pete made a special cameo appearance as a shabby street busker, and played a lovely accompaniment to the orchestral rendition of I’m One on his Gibson J200 acoustic guitar while Jimmy danced poetically around the stage.
At the end of the performance, Pete returned to the stage and joined the cast for the final stage bow. He gave an emotional speech about the show, which he brought to New York as a tribute to choreographer Paul Roberts, who sadly passed away from cancer on September 26.
Pete told the audience, “He’s not with us anymore. He worked right through to the end of the show in rehearsals, and in the sessions at Sadler’s Wells in London, then he went off sadly to pass away from cancer. So this show, hopefully, we brought it—I brought it to New York out of my own pocket… You know how I feel about the U.S. of A, but also particularly about this city, and I really wanted to bring it here for him, for his husband Phil, and everybody in this company. We were so lucky to bring a British company and some of our crew here to New York. It’s not the usual thing and I’m so grateful to all the unions for helping that happen. Thanks for supporting us here.”
The opening night gala was a star studded celebration, which kicked off with a pre-show red carpet photo session, followed by an after party event at the venue’s VIP lounge for the cast and crew. Celebrities spotted over the weekend included legendary Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who visited the cast backstage after the opening night performance to congratulate them, and Sting, who played the Ace Face in the 1979 Quadrophenia movie.
Congratulations to Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller on the successful launch of Quadrophenia, a Rock Ballet in America! Let’s hope Pete decides to bring this amazing production to a few more cities soon.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed their fabulous photos and reviews of the show!
Photo credit: George Ligouri
Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Photo credit: Mike Kosturko
Photo credit: George Ligouri
Photo credit: Mark Fintz
Video credit: Times Square Chronicles
Photo credit: Sheva Golkow
Photo credit: Lisa Grand
Photo credit: Mike Kosturko
Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Photo credit: Sheva Golkow
Photo credit: George Ligouri
Photo credit: Lisa Grand
Review by Lisa Grand
Every element of Quadrophenia, A Rock Ballet at New York City Center was top-notch, and the result was breathtaking.
• Paul Roberts’ choreography – joyful, heart-wrenching and wildly poetic.
• High-caliber dancers – graceful, athletic and deeply expressive.
• Strong narrative – who expected the dance version of Quadrophenia to develop the characters of Jimmy’s parents more fully?
• Great acting – Paris Fitzpatrick as Jimmy was a standout.
• Exquisite costumes – courtesy of high-end British designer Paul Smith.
• Striking set designs and sleek, sophisticated use of technology – e.g., the projections of the sea during Love, Reign O’er Me.
• Quality audio – the sound was so rich and clear that our friends sitting further back in the theater thought there was a live orchestra.
• Genius score – Pete Townshend’s searingly beautiful magnum opus is uniquely worthy of this stellar production.
• Brilliant orchestration – Worry no more, Pete! Thanks to Rachel Fuller’s orchestration, Quadrophenia will continue to be performed until the end of time.
Reactions from people sitting near us ranged from “This is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen” to “How did they manage to communicate so much without any dialogue?”
I was immediately drawn in by the opening sequence in which Jimmy and his alter egos mirrored the movement of the waves. The playful dance between Jimmy and his childhood friend on the park bench was incredibly sweet. The backstory of Jimmy’s father was harrowing. In the 1979 film version, which I loved, Jimmy’s parents were caricatures in comparison.
Even if this turns into a touring production, it will only reach a fraction of the people who need to see it, so I’m hoping someone had the foresight to film one of the performances.
Review by Sheva Golkow
Oh, my goodness - what a glorious evening! The ballet was every bit as stupendous as the London performance, which makes sense since the company was largely the same. One of the exceptions, and a treat for me, was Ansel Elgort as the Godfather (aka the rockstar). I flipped for then-baby-faced Elgort in Baby Driver but had no idea his background was dance. He was fabulous!
Pete made an unannounced and very surprise appearance during the show, taking the stage to play guitar on "I'm One" while the amazing Paris Fitzpatrick as Jimmy danced around him.
I remember all the unhappiness amongst Who fans when the ballet was announced. "Oh no! Tutus and The Who don't mix!". Yeah, yeah. This production proved them all very, very wrong. The exciting choreography is firmly between modern and ballet, the wardrobe is all 60s era street clothes (other than some 40s army uniforms), and the music - well, come on. The orchestration works well, as expected - Quadrophenia lends itself quite naturally to it. it's breathtaking.
And wonderfully, we got Pete giving a long, lovely speech at the curtain call, while the company, who clearly all love and respect him, stood in rapt attention.
And then it was over, except for one more bit of Who magic. As I was making my way through the lobby, who did I run into but Bobby Conte, who played Cousin Kevin in last year's Broadway production of Tommy (and was perfect in the part). I stopped to have a quick chat and tell him (again) how amazing he was. I wasn't at all surprised to see him there; I think working on Tommy made Who fans out of several members of the cast.
I do hope this isn't the end for the ballet. If it should come anywhere near you, by all means, GO. You will love it.
Review by Mike Kosturko
WOW! What an incredible night seeing "Quadrophenia—A Rock Ballet" at the New York City Center!
I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical about Quadrophenia being performed as a ballet, but much to my surprise, it was ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
I was lucky enough to sit in the first row—about 3 feet away from the stage—and the intensity was unreal. During the quiet parts, I could actually hear the performers breathing while they were dancing. So powerful!
A touching moment at the end: Pete Townshend came out briefly to thank the cast and pay tribute to the choreographer, Paul Roberts, who sadly passed away in late September after a battle with cancer.
Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Photo credit: Mark Fintz
Photo credit: Stefani Cushing
Photo credit: Mike Kosturko
Photo credit: George Ligouri
Photo credit: Mark Fintz
Photo credit: Mike Kosturko
Photo credit: Lisa Grand
