Flicker House Productions' presentation of The Who's Tommy, now at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Pete Townshend's paean to bad parenting, impotent religion, and the ultimate power of individualism, has a couple of uneven performances and a few questionable directorial choices. Fortunately, though, Aleks Pevec proves to be a revelation in the title role, making the show something worth seeing.

The story of Tommy began in 1969 as a concept album, and in 1993, Townshend and director Des McAnuff reformatted the album into a hit Broadway musical that won five Tony Awards. The score has some remarkable songs, including "Acid Queen," "Listening to You," and "Pinball Wizard," and the book utili[...]