*_FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE_**April 22, 2011*
Contact: Suzanne Grady

                (845) 257-3245


*//*

*/Note to editors:/*/Photos related to this release may be downloaded 
from the SUNY New Paltz web site at 
http://www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/Tommy.html/


  TOMMY: The Who’s electrifying rock opera comes to New Paltz

**

***NEW PALTZ***–Peter Townshend’s /Tommy,/ a tale of a young boy’s 
journey from pain to triumph will be performed April 28 – May 8 on the 
McKenna stage located on the campus of the State University of New York 
at New Paltz. Jack Wade directs the musical, with Stephen Kitsakos as 
the musical director and conductor.


The Tony-nominated musical is set in London between 1943 and 1962. After 
witnessing the murder of his mother’s lover by his father, Tommy is 
traumatized into catatonia, and as the boy grows up, he suffers abuse at 
the hands of his sadistic relatives and neighbors.As an adolescent, he’s 
discovered to have an uncanny knack for playing pinball; and when his 
mother finally breaks through his catatonia, he becomes an international 
pinball superstar.

The musical score captures the bones and soul of rock and roll in 
featuring the prominence of lead guitars, electric bass, keyboard fills 
and the dancing, driving drums that helped define the rhythms of the 
sound of the late 1960s.

The cast is comprised of many new and old talents, including guest 
performer Stephen Balantzian, who is an alumnus of the New Paltz Theatre 
Arts program with Broadway and TV credits.

This production showcases, particularly, the work of the design and 
technical training program in the Department of Theatre Arts. The 
program prepares students for careers in the design and technical 
aspects of theatre, film and television: scenic, costume and lighting 
design as well as theatre trades: carpentry, painting, electrics, 
sewing, cutting and draping, theatre crafts and properties. Students 
work alongside faculty practitioners getting hands-on experience both on 
and off the stage.

A pre-show panel discussion, “/Placing Tommy on the Musical Stage/” will 
be held on Friday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the theatre. Participants 
include Jack Wade, director, Hamilton Stapell, Department of History, 
Daniel Labbado, Department of Media & Communications, and Stephen 
Kitsakos music director/conductor as moderator
**
*About the Director*
**
John (Jack) Wade is an Associate Professor of Theatre. A theatre 
historian, he designs lighting and scenery and directs in the 
departmental Mainstage season. His professional lighting designs have 
been seen Off-Broadway and in many regional theatres across the country. 
He has been a distinguished mentor of many designers and performers who 
have gone on to work in the professional theatre, television and film 
industries. As a playwright, his recent play, /Red Masquerade/, was a 
regional finalist for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre 
Festival. Among his awards for playwriting and design, he is the 
recipient of the Theatre Crafts International Award for outstanding 
achievement in theatrical design. Professor Wade is member of United 
Scenic Artists, Local 829 and holds a MFA from The Hilberry Repertory 
Theatre Graduate Program at Wayne State University. More information 
available at http://www.newpaltz.edu/theatre/people_wade.html

*About the Music Director/Conductor*

Stephen Kitsakos is a Lecturer in Theatre Studies and Musical Theatre. 
He received training as a theatre composer and lyricist at New York 
University and with the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.A writer member of 
ASCAP, he has received commissions from the BMI Foundation, Catskill 
Watershed Corp, Episcopal Diocese of New York, 4^th Wall Musical 
Theatre, U. Conn and the Smithsonian Institution.
Recent works include the libretti for the opera /The Wooden Sword/ 
(2007) with music by the distinguished composer Sheila Silver, and with 
Ms. Silver the cantata /The White Rooster, a Tale of Compassion/ (2009), 
for the Boston-based early music ensemble Tapestry. He is a contributing 
writer to /The Sondheim Review/. More information available at 
http://www.newpaltz.edu/theatre/people_kitsakos.html

Performances of /Tommy/ are April 28, 29, 30, May 5, 6, 7, at 8:00 p.m., 
May 1 & 8 at 2:00 pm. Ticket prices are $18 general reserved, $16 
students, seniors and SUNY New Paltz staff.Tickets can be purchased at 
the Box Office (845.257.3880) beginning April 20, Monday – Friday from 
11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., at.Visit www.newpaltz.edu/theatre 
to purchase tickets at any time.

–30 –


/Located in the heart of a dynamic college town, ninety minutes from 
metropolitan New York City, the //State University of New York at New 
Paltz/ /is a highly selective college of about 
8,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

/

/One of the most well-regarded public colleges in the nation, New Paltz 
delivers an extraordinary number of majors in //Business/ 
/, //Liberal Arts & Sciences/ 
/, //Engineering/ 
/, //Fine & Performing Arts/ 
/and //Education/ 
/.

/

/New Paltz embraces its culture as a community where talented and 
independent minded people from around the world create close personal 
links with real scholars and artists who love to teach./