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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Tommy McDowell, a native of Vestavia Hills, performs in the traveling Broadway production of the famous rock opera, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” as Peter, when on tour with the show. McDowell stands on the steps of the old football stadium at the newly renovated Louis Pizitz Middle School.
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Photo courtesy of Tommy McDowell.
McDowell, second from left, sitting down, and his castmates in the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Six months into the national tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily shut the production down, shocking the cast and crew, including Vestavia Hills native Tommy McDowell.
The musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber had been performed twice in Cleveland before Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine banned gatherings of more than 500 people, shutting down the production just as it had gotten started.
“It was kind of surreal,” said McDowell, who plays Peter in the musical.
The coronavirus put a hold on McDowell’s musical theatre career, which has continued to grow since he began in 2006. But if it weren’t for the words of a high school friend, it might not have started at all.
After he graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2003, McDowell moved to Boston, desperate for a change of scenery after spending his entire life in Birmingham. Three years later, while he was selling pianos and playing in a band on the side, a friend from high school told him about his job at Busch Gardens as the assistant to the head of the entertainment department.
McDowell, who had performed in a couple of plays at BSC, realized he missed performing. In 2006, he went to Busch Gardens and sang and acted in an Italian-themed show.
“It was simple; it was fun,” McDowell said. “I just had a blast doing it.”
While he planned at the time to return to Boston, McDowell in 2007 auditioned for a role in “The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley.” While he didn’t get the role, he got a callback a year later and was recast in the role he had originally auditioned for, the title character.
The next year, he was in the production of “A Year with Frog and Toad.”
Then, McDowell went on the first American tour of “American Idiot,” bringing the album by punk rock band Green Day to the stage.
A few years ago, while in London, McDowell took in a performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was originally a rock album that became a stage play outlining the last seven days of the life of Jesus Christ.
“I loved it,” McDowell said.
He wasn’t the only one in the audience who loved the show. A theatre producer was there, and McDowell was able to meet him and ask if he planned on bringing the show to the U.S. When he said he was, McDowell told him to look for him in the audition room.
McDowell successfully auditioned for the play and started preparing for the tour, the 50th anniversary of the production’s inaugural national tour.
“That’s cool to be a part of,” McDowell said. “It truly pays homage to the original concept album. The orchestra packs a mighty punch.”
The play features the characters of Jesus and Peter playing guitar and dancing. The production had just added a 21-piece string orchestra that was “breathtaking,” McDowell said, before they were told to halt their shows, which won’t return until at least this October or November.
“We kind of bonded together over it,” McDowell said. “We’ve all been dealing with this in separate ways.”
Those bonds often created through theater are one of the big reasons McDowell chose to pursue a career in musical theater.
Years ago, when he was at BSC, McDowell was in college productions of “Sweeney Todd” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”
“The main thing was how diverse and accepting the people were,” McDowell said. “It didn’t matter who you were ... as long as you were there to do your job well and have a positive attitude.”
He’s encountered the same acceptance with “Superstar.”
The crew has grown close to one another, McDowell said, and they stay in touch using Zoom. The “riot girl,” who is the show’s lead dancer, has been performing the show’s dances once a week, which helps physically and mentally, McDowell said.
“I truly love all of my coworkers,” McDowell said.
One of McDowell’s favorite parts of the show is when the cast “kind of runs through” the audience. During that scene, he tries to make eye contact with young people in the audience to hopefully make them feel special.
"It inspires me to know we’ve been able to show them something they’ve never seen before,” McDowell said. “Who knows what that will inspire them to do? Theater can be such an inspiration.”
After moving to the Vestavia Hills area from Selma when he was a year old, McDowell and his family settled in his mother’s childhood home in the city. His upbringing in the city and the Vestavia Hills City School system helped him bring a different perspective to theater.
“I definitely brought with me a Southern sensibility,” McDowell said. “It’s something people don’t see often, especially in New York where it’s so cutthroat. ... I feel like I make people feel at ease.”
While he was eager to leave Birmingham when he graduated from BSC, he’s gained an appreciation for his hometown.
“It’s a hidden gem,” McDowell said.
Before he exits the stage one last time, McDowell still has some goals to cross off his to-do list.
That list includes being on Broadway, where he would like to create a role, something he did before the “American Idiot” tour for a prospective show that never materialized.
He’d also like to play the role of King George III in the incredibly successful Broadway show “Hamilton,” which is coming to Birmingham in the 2021-22 theater season.
In the future, McDowell said he’d also like to possibly do music therapy.
But for now, he’s happy bringing the inspiration of theater to people around the country.
“I’m really grateful to be where I am,” McDowell said. “Each one of these tours has been a step up.”
