Elton John's Broadway show "Tammy Faye" closed shortly after opening. The director blames liberal media?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/theater/tammy-faye-broadway-musical-closing.html

‘Tammy Faye’ Musical to Close After Failing to Find Broadway Audience
Well-reviewed in London but poorly received in New York, the musical with an Elton John score will end its run on Dec. 8.

“Tammy Faye,” a new musical about the scandal-wracked singing televangelist, will close on Broadway after an unexpectedly short run, a major disappointment for a costly and ambitious show that picked up some good reviews in London but was poorly received in New York and failed to find an audience.

The musical, which opened on Nov. 14, will close on Dec. 8, at which point it will have had 24 preview and 29 regular performances.


The show was capitalized for $22 million, according to a spokesman for the production (it could have raised up to $25 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but wound up budgeted for less). The box office performance has been disastrous: last week, it was the lowest-grossing show on Broadway, and played to houses that were 37 percent empty in one of Broadway’s largest theaters.


The show has an accomplished creative team. The music is by Elton John and the lyrics are by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters; the book is by James Graham, a well-regarded British playwright; and the director is Rupert Goold, who is the artistic director of the Almeida Theater in London. The show had an initial run at the Almeida starting in the fall of 2022.

[Shellback Squid]

1. Could be a little true but he's not soley blaming the liberal media

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

3. its seems to me that he's blaming post election bitterness from keeping libs from seeing his great show

Am I reading that wrong?

[msongs]

2. tammy faye is way old news. not enugh people remembered or cared nt

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

4. I sure wouldn't have picked this topic for a musical show. Particularly with the evangelism theme

[John1956PA]

6. Sounds like the plot of "The Producers."

Bialystock: "I picked the wrong play, with the wrong director, with the wrong cast."

[Think. Again.]

5. This is the first I've heard of the show.

Did they do any publicity?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

8. it had good word of mouth out of London and of course, Elton John's name attached. I guess musical lovers knew about it

and would have had a prominent signage on broadway.

[Wiz Imp]

7. It appears it just wasn't very good

It got decent reviews in London but it ran for less than 2 months. The reviews on Broadway were terrible as were the ticket sales. I'm pretty sure if it really was as good as the director tries to make it sound in his letter, then it surely wouldn't have had a problem with ticket sales. Elton John remains very popular to this day and I'm sure his involvement would attract fans. It seems clear to me, that it failed because it probably sucked.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

9. from snips posted online, it looked lame

[Srkdqltr]

10. I cannot imagine how a play about Tammy Faye Baker could be musical or interesting.

The whole episode was so stupid and tawdry.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

11. Some how Tammy became like a folk hero. They put the money grifting charge on Jim Baker.

[JoseBalow]

12. "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" is about Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker

and Pat Robertson scandals (released 1988)

(9:16)

Lyrics

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

13. thanks for this. Long song