The story of televangelist Tammy Faye spells failure for Elton John
It is unfortunate that so much time and energy (not counting talent and money) was wasted on this lame musical about a character that was not very commendable in the first place. Tammy Faye, a pseudo televangelist, and her husband Jim Bakker, hosted for a while a pretentious religious PTL Club television show on Ted Turner’s TNT network, which dealt with so-called sin redemption from God, fake prayers and other invented holy fallacies, and welcomed many celebrities like Ronald Reagan and sex magazine publisher Larry Flint.
The musical, with a book by James Graham, songs by Elton John and lyrics by Jake Shears, directed by Rupert Goold and choreographed by Lynne Page, originated in London in 2022 and played for a few weeks at the Almeida Theatre. Katie Brayben who starred in the title role, won an Olivier Award for her performance. While she is starring again in the show, along with two reliable actors, Christian Borle and Michael Cerveris respectively as Jim Bakker and Jerry Falwell, another televangelist and conservative activist, there seems to be no viable reason for it to be on Broadway.
Tammy Faye, whose eccentric attitude, sublimed by excessive amounts of makeup and fake teary eyes made her a television personality in the 1970s and 1980s, was certainly a bigger than life character with millions of followers, including many gay men whom she celebrated on the air. But that didn’t justify turning her into a Broadway luminary. The musical follows her rise to success when she and her husband, another would-be preacher who left her after he was accused of raping an admirer, attracted masses of TV viewers who contributed to their fortune with their weekly donations.
Eventually government officials pursued her and Bakker for having collected millions of dollars from those donations which they used to their own benefit, spending lavishly and building a Christian theme park, without paying taxes under the pretext that this money was owned by God. When they were convicted, their TV show was cancelled, Bakker was sent to jail, and Tammy found herself alone and broke. She subsequently married another man, a property developer, and died of cancer in 2007. An inane coda to the story finds her in Purgatory, with the voice of God welcoming her – a stupid way to end the musical as if an extra scene was that necessary.
Katie Brayben, making her Broadway debut as Tammy, dotted with a remarkable vocal style that sometimes recalls Dolly Parton’s, is splendid in the role, with several solos taking advantage of her talent as a singer. Christian Borle, best remembered for his part in shows like “Something Rotten!” and “Some Like It Hot”, is barely visible in the action, while Michael Cerveris, another Broadway icon and Tony winner seen to memorable effect in “Assassins” and “The Who’s Tommy”, is also lost in this production.
The songs by Elton John, with lyrics by Jake Shears, sound for the most part loud and uninspiring. His previous contributions to musical theater, like The Lion King or Aida had made him a much-celebrated stage maverick. Such is hardly the case here with many numbers that fail to attract interest. Other elements in the production – Lynne Page’s stiff choreography, Bunny Christie’s bland scenic designs or Rupert Goold’s soft direction – add very little to the impact left by this musical.
Celebrating the turpitude of a con artist seems hardly a reason to have a Broadway musical that bad. But if truth be told, Tammy Faye certainly didn’t deserve any better.
Musical Supervision: Tom Deering • Music Director: Chris Fenwick • Choreographer: Lynne Page • Scenic Designer: Bunny Christie • Costume Designer: Katrina Lindsay • Lighting Designer: Neil Austin • Video Designer: Finn Ross • Sound Designer: Nick Lidster for Autograph • With: Katie Brayben (Tammy Faye Bakker), Christian Borle (Jim Bakker), Michael Cerveris (Jerry Falwell), Nick Bailey (Paul Crouch), Charl Brown (Steve Pieters), Mark Evans (Billy Graham), Allison Guinn (Jan Crouch), Ian Lassiter (Jimmy Swaggart/Ronald Reagan/Archbishop), Raymond J. Lee (John Fletcher), Max Gordon Moore (Thomas S. Monson/Proctologist/Marvin Gorman), Alana Pollard (Jessica Hahn), Andy Taylor (Pat Robertson/Ted Turner) and others
Cover photo: Matthew Murphy