This is a vintage The Who’s TOMMY April 22,1993 Broadway Opening Day Cast Gift
This is an INCREDIBLE and RARE piece of Broadway history
This item was produced in extremely limited numbers and given exclusively to the cast of TOMMY on April 22, 1993 to celebrate the grand opening premiere of the play at St. James Theatre
This item was purchased at an estate sale -- a family was from NYC and one of the family members was involved in theater productions. I do not know if they were involved in the production of TOMMY or if they simply knew someone who was or purchased this at the annual broad way flea market
What I do know after extensive research is that this authentic and original item has never come up for sale online or at any auction house in recent history, if ever, making it an extremely rare piece
I estimate less than 25 of these were made and at most 40
The beautiful handcrafted box features "THE WHO'S TOMMY" carved on the top with the opening day date
The box opens to reveal two silver toned Baoding Balls, about an inch across each, which rest in perfectly carved slots
The balls are meant, I believe, to represent the song "Pinball Wizard" and resemble pinballs and since the character Tommy goes on to become a spiritual leader I believe that they chose to use Baoding balls as they are used for spiritual meditation -- a very clever idea indeed!
Also included inside is a yellow and black checked cloth, representative of the colors used for the TOMMY posters and Playbills, for polishing the balls
The box was made by Heartwood Creations, a very well known USA based company that still makes beautiful, fine handcrafted boxes to this day
The box measures approx 5" x 3.5" x 2.25"
Obviously a piece like this is very difficult to value because it so rare and unique, so I will consider SERIOUS offers
CONDITION DETAILS: Pre-owned condition. Box has a few minor scuffs and nicks to the wood. Balls and cleaning cloth are in excellent condition. Sold as is. See pictures for details.
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