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Scene 14 : A Research Laboratory
(The modern research laboratory is teeming with lab
technicians, as the Specialist speaks to the Walkers
about Tommy's condition.)
Go to the Mirror
Specialist:
He seems to be completely unreceptive.
The tests I give him make no sense at all.
Specialist & Specialist's assistant:
His eyes react to light; the dials detect it.
He hears but cannot answer to your call.
(Against a backdrop of atomic images and X-rays,
Tommy is placed in a nightmarish contraption that
spins around 360degrees)
Ten-year old Tommy: (voiceover)
See me, feel me,
Touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me,
Touch me, heal me.
Specialist:
There is no chance; no untried operation.
All hope lies with him; and none with me.
Specialist & Specialist's assistant:
Imagine though, the shock from isolation
If he suddenly could hear and speak and see.
(Tommy is moved onto a glowing, brightly-colored table
that slides him into the tunnel of a similarly brilliant CAT
scan machine. Multiple images of the brillant readings
of the machine appear on the screens behind them.)
Ten-year Old Tommy (voiceover)
See me, feel me,
Touch me, heal me.
See me, feel me,
Touch me, heal me.
Specialist:
His eyes can see,
His ears can hear, his lips can speak.
All the time the needles, flick and rock.
Specialist & Specialist's Assistant:
No machine can give the kind of stimulation
needed to remove his inner block.
Go to the mirror boy!
Go to the mirror boy!
(The specialist turns Tommy toward the mirror;
he walks to it and stares at his own image.)
Mrs Walker:
I often wonder what he's feeling.
Has he ever heard a word I've said?
Mr. & Mrs. Walker:
Look at him the mirror, dreaming.
What is happening in his head?
(Tommy sees his 4 year old and 10 year old selves in the mirror)
Listening to You (reprise)
The Two Young Tommys:
Listening to you, I get the music.
Gazing at you, I get the heat.
Following you, I climb the mountain.
I get excitement at your feet!
(As Tommy joins in the singing, he levitates
several feet off the floor, unnoticed by anyone.)
The Three Tommys:
Right behind you, I see the millions;
On you, I see the glory.
From you, I get opinions;
From you, I get the story.
(Tommy lands gently back on the floor as
his younger selves disappear)
Mr. & Mrs Walker:
What is happening in his head?
Ooooh, I wish I knew…
I wish I knew.
(Left alone on stage, Tommy is beginning to
surface into consciousness. Very slowly,
he raises his hand and stares at it.)
Scene 15:The Street/22 Heathfield Gardens
(Projected scenes of urban industry give way to
a tough-looking street where Cousin Kevin
joins some leather-jacketed rockers surrounding Tommy.)
Cousin Kevin (spoken)
Tommy's been to hospital.
First Lad:
Oh, so he's been cured then, has he?
Cousin Kevin:
Oh completely cured, yeah. He's a wonder of science.
They're going to make him prime fucking minister.
Tommy Can you Hear Me?
(The lads start playing roughly but good-naturedly
with Tommy. 22 Heathfield Gardens assembles behind them.)
Local Lads:
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
Tommy, can you see me?
Can I help to cheer you?
Oooh, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy…
(Cousin Kevin knocks on the Walkers' door
and the youths carry Tommy into the house
and deposit him on the sofa.)
Local Lads:
Tommy can you hear me?
Can you feel me near you?
Tommy, can you see me?
Can I help to cheer you?
Oooh, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy…
Tommy, Tommy, Tommy…
(The lads file out, one giving Mrs Walker a flower
from her own vase. The image of Tommy as a
10 year old magically appears in the mirror)
10-year old Tommy:
Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.
(Tommy crosses to the mirror and stares. Mr. Walker stiffens)
