TAMMY FAYE Reviews- Page 5

[Owen22]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 9:17am

This, like Bad Cinderella,should never have come in.  It was mediocre at the Almeida (Vincentelli's Times review is very close to my feelings--and I was lucky enough to see Rannells!)  If we remember, Bad Cinderella (then just Cinderella) was also warmly greeted by the London critics. Why do critics in Britain seem to go so easy on new musicals anymore?  When I was there I walked out of Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder and disliked Fangirls. But they got the same star ratings as the so obviously superior Two Strangers Carry a Cake.  Musicals are somewhat looked down on in Britain so I guess there is a condescension that ANYONE can write one and if it's campy enough it's good? Now, there are some mostly organic,non-star-writer shows coming to the West End that, from what I've seen and heard, are actually very good (Benjamin Button, Clueless, even the reading I saw of 13 Going on 30 looked promising). Some,based on popular IP may even transfer (the best is still Operation Mincemeat which is already on it's way, and, I guarantee, will be a hit). But dear producers, please THINK before the possible good reviews for Devil Wears Prada induce you to scope out a Broadway theatre.

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 9:37am

bump

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 9:57am

JasonC3 said: "Hoping Cerveris returns quickly to the stage since this show does not seem it will keep him around for long."

Always wanted Cerveris to do a run as Hades in HADESTOWN.

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 9:57am

Musigamist said: "NY Times:https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/theater/tammy-faye-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE4.z1OS.FBqvBdKxgXUe&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare



Review: Tammy Faye Was Over-the-Top. This Musical Makes Her Small."

Ah I see they kept the Pope scenes. I thought those were unnecessary and could have been cut. Excerpt from the NYT review:

“If the emotional charge does not detonate, neither does the toothless satire — a timidity illustrated by confabs involving Pope John Paul II (Andy Taylor), the president of the Church of Latter-day Saints (Max Gordon Moore) and the archbishop of Canterbury (Ian Lassiter). When those three spiritual leaders discuss the Bakkers, it feels as if we’re watching the heads of mafia families trying to figure out how to handle an upstart rival. But Graham does not commit to that thought-provoking angle so the scenes feel superfluous.”

runtime is 2h35mins so they did cut some things but it sounds like they needed to cut more. I’ll admit I wanted to see this again after opening to see the changes but after reading these reviews will most likely not watch it again.

[CJRochester]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:04am

quizking101 said: "When I left an early preview of the show, my only real positive thought was “My God, Michael Cerveris can really do ANYTHING.” Honestly, I thought he might be on the track to a Tony nomination.

It wouldn’t be unheard of. It happened the last time he starred in a London transfer of a musical (Evita)with confusingly mismatched leads (Elena Roger & Ricky Martin) that got essentially shrugged off in NYC."

Cerveris was the best thing about that production of Evita.

 

Updated On: 11/15/24 at 10:04 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:07am

I am genuinely baffled how the Pope party line scenes survived into the final show. As currently executed, they’re not funny enough for comedic relief, not sharp enough to be satirical, and totally unnecessary to the plot. Those scenes, and a number of other sequences and elements, feel like vestigial elements from an earlier, more irreverent and campier draft of the show. 

Updated On: 11/15/24 at 10:07 AM

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:23am

Kad said: "I am genuinely baffled how the Pope party line scenes survivedinto the final show. As currently executed,they’re not funny enough for comedic relief, not sharp enough to be satirical, and totally unnecessary to the plot. Those scenes, and a number of other sequences and elements, feel like vestigial elements from an earlier, more irreverent and campier draft of the show."

Rowan & Martin’s Pray-In

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:43am

So for those who’ve seen it…is it worth it to catch it before it goes? I’m in NY next week and have a slot left open, and my wife is very interested in seeing this before it vanishes, mostly out of morbid curiosity. “It’d be fun to see a bomb” vibes. Is it worth it? Is this worth seeing to say I was there and I saw this? Or is it too dull?

[Lot666]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:50am

Owen22 said: "This, like Bad Cinderella,should never have come in."

I liked Bad Cinderella, so maybe you "should never have come in". Who are you to make such pronouncements?

 

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 10:52am

ChairinMain said: "So for those who’ve seen it…is it worth it to catch it before it goes? I’m in NY next week and have a slot left open, and my wife is very interested in seeing this before it vanishes, mostly out of morbid curiosity. “It’d be fun to see a bomb” vibes. Is it worth it? Is this worth seeing to say I was there and I saw this? Or is it too dull?"

I'd say skip it. If you have 1 slot left use it for something worthy of your time and money. As far as "seeing a bomb"...for me it wasn't so much one of those shows that is shockingly/laughably bad but more just a boring head scratcher that made me leave the theater thinking "Why?". Over all I found it to be very boring and a story we've seen before and told better. Just my 2 cents.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 11:20am

Lot666 said: "Owen22 said: "This, like Bad Cinderella,should never have come in."

I liked Bad Cinderella, so maybe you "should never have come in". Who are you to make such pronouncements?

"

Regardless of whether or not you liked it, Bad Cinderella was a critical and financial disaster, so, yeah, it coming to Broadway was probably not the best decision. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 11:27am

Where is bway1430 today?

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 11:28am

This might have worked a few years ago.  The same with TDWP.  But not now.

Updated On: 11/15/24 at 11:28 AM

[Duckie4]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 11:59am

I have been following the trajectory of this show since I heard about it on the West End up to reading the reviews today.  And as much as I adore Cerveris and Boyle, I knew I wouldn't be seeing it despite me usually seeing most of the shows on Broadway.  According to some people on the board, I shouldn't have an opinion on it if I haven't seen it, so I'll just keep it about me and not the specifics of the show, but it does perhaps explain the lukewarm reception of US audiences, especially those of us who are older. 

I'm 63. I was a child of the 70's. The hateful, judgmental rhetoric of the televangelical Christians affected me terribly growing up, and it has only gotten worse over the last 50 years. I suppose I can understand the UK's warm reception of the show if they really don't know who Tammy Faye was, but I'm still trying to understand why anyone would think any of this history is funny or lighthearted. If that deserves an "Ok, Boomer" or a "lighten up" then so be it. 

Theatre doesn't live in a vacuum, we all bring our emotional past and baggage into our seats. I'm thinking that a lot of people my age just refuse to be a part of this audience, and the reviews here and from the critics just haven't given me any impetus to change my mind. Anyway, just my meager two cents. 

And yes, I absolutely respect all the artists putting in the hard work. I hope I'll be able to enjoy seeing Katie Brayben in something else some day. 

 

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 12:16pm

Wow. I didn’t know so many NYC theater critics were hateful Broadwayworld users. 

In all seriousness, these reviews might be the death knoll of the show. I don’t wish failure on the production, but it will be hard to overcome this reaction.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 12:40pm

Theatrely:

TAMMY FAYE Not Ready For This Close-Up — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/tammy-faye-not-ready-for-this-close-up-review

"Unsure of the tone it must strike, some of Goold’s staging would be considered inadvisable by even the least theatrical church mouse, such as opening with a dramatic costume reveal from hospital gown to … muted church dress, or capping a rousing ensemble number not with fixed jazz hands, but with the Bakkers welcoming Ronald Reagan onto the stage. Never has applause been so spectacularly curtailed. Such a move might work were this a show rigorous in its upending of audience enjoyment. Alas, the preceding song here is “He’s Inside Me,” a painfully unfunny string of double entendres (“He’ll cover you with all the joy he releases”) whose low blows won’t offend a single Christian, except for those with good taste.

And that points to the book’s greatest flaw: we need to believe that Tammy Faye believes, or that at least her belief is worthy of respect, even the institutions around it are reprehensible. Brayben certainly respects it; her big powerhouse numbers, sadly few and far between, are electrifying, especially the act-one closer, “Empty Hands,” which she sells with the magnetic ferocity missing from most of the show. (The underused Cerveris, in a “Hellfire”-like number questioning Falwell’s crooked path to righteousness, briefly becomes its most fascinating figure.) But while the musical finds in her an icon of kitsch and courage, it refuses to take her faith seriously, undermining any possible good that come out of her beliefs by either undercutting it with the other televangelists’ devious politicking or plainly mocking religion with the twerpy glee of a Bill Maher."

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 12:57pm

trentsketch said: "Wow. I didn’t know so many NYC theater critics were hateful Broadwayworld users.

In all seriousness, these reviews might be the death knoll of the show. I don’t wish failure on the production, but it will be hard to overcome this reaction."

I just wonder how long they'll try to delay a closing. Maybe before Christmas? The Notebook closes on December 15th so maybe the week after?

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 1:28pm

Someone near to the production informed me they have already received their notice but are not deploying it just yet.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 1:31pm

I saw the first preview and left at intermission.  Still, I was surprised to see reviews as negative as these one.  Re when it will close, it will depend on human vanity.  They should have closed last night at the latest.  Tonight is pretty well sold in the orchestra, pretty empty in the mezz, with the balcony closed.  Tomorrow evening, there can not be more that 100 - 150 seats sold.  Only vanity will keep it open.

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 1:58pm

quizking101 said: "Someone near to the production informed me they have already received their notice but are not deploying it just yet."

I see this closing after thanksgiving weekend

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 2:07pm

quizking101 said: "Someone near to the production informed me they have already received their notice but are not deploying it just yet."

Any news involving a cast recording yet?

[MezzoDiva47]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 2:08pm

pablitonizer said: "quizking101 said: "Someone near to the production informed me they have already received their notice but are not deploying it just yet."

I see this closing after thanksgiving weekend"


just in time for

jimmy swaggart: the musical

to open in the spring

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 2:12pm

Tammy Faye deserved so much better. Her as a character should’ve been up there with the greats; like Gypsy Rose, Sally Durant Plummer, or Dolly Levi. I hate this is her, Broadway, legacy now. 

Updated On: 11/15/24 at 02:12 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 2:19pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "quizking101 said: "Someone near to the production informed me they have already received their notice but are not deploying it just yet."

Any news involving a cast recording yet?"


Only that the score will sound just as bad on record.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/15/24 at 2:22pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Tammy Faye deservedso much better. Her as a character should’ve been up there with the greats; like Gypsy Rose, Sally Durant Plummer, or Dolly Levi.I hate this is her, Broadway, legacy now."

I confess to being somewhat mystified by this. Why, exactly? I didn't grow up with the Bakkers - I was not only raised Jewish, but also was born in 1989 when their whole empire was all but collapsed. But I've seen the documentary and subsequent film and now this, and I am just generally perplexed by her whole appeal beyond the general camp value.

At the end of the day, she may have been a true believer who really did preach love.... but she also was a key figure in a fraudulent enterprise, happy to take the money of millions and live a lavish lifestyle and never really seemed to feel guilty about it or grapple with that all means. I'd take her Christianity over Falwell's, for sure, but that's damning with faint praise.