The Tammy Faye Broadway musical is closing just weeks after making its debut. According to the New York Times, the show about the scandal-plagued 1970s-80s televangelist/singer who became a camp icon thanks to her outrageous makeup and sartorial style will dim the lights after a surprisingly short run.
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The Times reported that the $22 million show featuring music by Elton John and lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears — with a book by James Graham (Ink, Finding Neverland) — scored decent reviews in its premiere run in London in 2022, but was plagued by poor reviews in New York, where it failed to find an audience.
And so, the show that opened on Nov. 14 will go dark on Dec. 8, after just 24 preview and 29 regular performances due to what the paper described as a “disastrous” box office performance that included being the lowest-grossing show on Broadway last week, where it played to 37% empty houses at the Palace Theater, one of the largest theaters on the Great White Way.
In its review last week, the Times called the show a “bland, tonal mishmash” and a “disjointed, strangely bland musical.” Former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe begged to differ, however. Writing on Instagram over the weekend, Stipe said he was moved by the show’s opening night, calling it a “tour de force” and “beautifully moving and soulful telling of the Tammy Faye Bakker story” in a post that that featured a snap of the singer with John and Roseanne Cash.
On Tuesday (Nov. 19), Shears posted a tribute to the cast and crew of the show on Instagram. “What a ride these last 12 years (and 12 weeks) have been. Getting Tammy Faye up on Broadway has been one of the most thrilling experiences of my life,” he wrote. “What a joy working with this entire cast, their stamina and talent staggering… and beautiful to watch. Thank you to all the collaborators, cast and crew.. I’m immensely proud of our work. I believe that musical theatre is one of the most archaic forms of art: complicated and managerially elaborate.”
Sir John also wrote about being chuffed for the Broadway bow, congratulating the cast and crew for their “extraordinary hard work and talent… it’s been a true honour to collaborate with you all.”
John wrote the music for one of Broadway’s most enduring modern hits, The Lion King, as well as for the Tony- and Grammy-winning Aida, Billy Elliot: the Musical, The Devil Wears Prada and Lestat, with the latter also having a brief run on Broadway, closing after 33 preview and 39 performances in 2006.
