TAMMY FAYE Reviews- Page 9

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 11/29/24 at 9:35am

Autumn was originally scheduled to perform on n the Sunday evening, December 8 performance prior to the closing announcement. 
 

Does anyone know which performance she’ll be doing the final week now? I assume Katie will be performing at the final on Sunday night. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 2:09am

I saw this on Friday and I'll say that this really wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had been led to believe.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a good show, but I was nowhere close to walking out at intermission and I thought some of the Elton John songs were quite tuneful.  Perhaps this also has to do with the fact that I grew up in a secular household after all the PTL scandals and the dominance of televangelism had happened and I had never heard of Tammy Faye until the Jessica Chastain movie (which I still haven't seen), so to me she might as well have been a fictional character.

I found the first act interesting in seeing how Tammy and Jim became figures that people could connect to.  I could see the appeal of their "family" inclusivity approach to Christianity rather than the fire and brimstone rained down by the other preachers.  A lot of the montage songs and production numbers I found to be fun with appropriately showy choreography.  I think the first bit that clunked was really when Jerry Falwell came into the forefront with his scheming.  Something about the tonal shift felt disingenuous to me, but up until then I was thinking that it was actually a good musical.

The second act was where it fell apart more for me.  While the financial scandals and the villainesque maneuvering by Falwell were juicy to watch, it devolved too much into broad strokes.  Tammy was so insistent that she knew nothing about the proceedings and the musical seemed to be trying to paint her as innocent to such an extent that it just rang false.  And what with how much PTL and Heritage USA had taken money from people with no actual return, it felt confused about how much we actually wanted to root for Tammy.  It seemed like the whole musical was meant to be a kind of Tammy Faye redemption arc, with some pandering to the gays thrown in at the end, and we're meant to take it that she's this saint who only wanted people to love each other and never did anything wrong--again, too earnest to be believable.

I was thinking about Queen of Versailles a bit after seeing this, and I think where that musical succeeded for me was that it wanted to paint Jackie as a flawed character who had been consumed by her materialism and greed that she lost sight of the very things she had valued so much growing up (eg home and family), which I found to be a compelling narrative (though based on the reviews others disagreed).  But Tammy Faye doesn't allow its protagonist to really have any flaws.  It tries to paint her out to be a feminist icon who just had the misfortune of being caught up in a whirlwind of financial problems.

I mentioned liking the bigger numbers, and I think most of them did a good job in moving through time (like Tammy and Jim's first love song as they start out with puppets and the infamous He's Inside Me, where we see how they built up PTL), though I suppose a lot of credit for that can be attributed to Rupert Goold.  The ballads and character songs were really where the score suffered more.  Sure, you're making your leading lady sing to the rafters, but when you're only repeating the same sentiment over and over again, I found my attention drifting.  And I'm not really sure what the framing device was intended to serve besides an overly saccharine ending (and don't get me started on the kitschy "oh my god, am I in the past?" transition).  

I could definitely see how Andrew Rannels would've fared better as Jim Bakker, particularly in the first half.  There was just something about Christian Borle's performance that made him seem inherently untrustworthy once they got PTL up and running, and I don't know if that was on purpose or not.  I thought he was a lot better in the second act when he is indeed revealed to be untrustworthy, and I suppose many people seeing the show know of their downfall already, but it just seemed a strange way to play that character.

All in all I'm glad I went--I was dragging my heels a bit but it's been a point of pride for me to say that I've seen all the musicals in each Broadway season.  I think there were a lot of great performances (though probably none good enough to be remembered come Tony season), and it was quite sad to see the orchestra only about two thirds full since I did think there was a good amount to enjoy.  Though given that the Palace is newly renovated, I did find the lack of leg room to be borderline criminal.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:58am

Listener said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "TheatreMonkey said: "goodtimes123 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "goodtimes123 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "The show just posted theirfinal performance will be December 8."

And there was distant music…"

Is Ragtime still transferring?"
 

Seth Rudetsky was talking about Ragtime transferring to the Palace on his show yesterday. A shame if any kind of transfer isn't happening. Was hoping Ragtime would at least find a smaller theater than the Palace to transfer to.

No."

Huh. There’s definitive answers from both sides. And from a cast member saying yes it is transferring on a different forum."

 

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 08:58 AM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 10:36am

The rumor now is that Ragtime tix will go on sale January 7. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 10:50am

I thought Ragtime was off?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 11:03am

Who the hell knows anymore. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 11:58am

A certain poster in the previews thread kept insisting Rannells was fired and hated by the London cast, without any specific reasons why. So nice to see he attended last night.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 12:01pm

[Anshel2]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 2:03pm

Autumn is playing Tammy Faye at today’s matinee

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 2:24pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "The rumor now is thatRagtimetix will go on sale January 7."

Producers just seem to love losing money. Do they have a financial domination kink? Some little gay twink is making them finance his passion productions that have no viability? 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 3:40pm

You seem to have a lot of concern with how other people spend their money. Why does it matter to you? It's their money.

But given that we've already had this same conversation in the previews thread:



Now that Gypsy is looking like anything but a juggernaut and Sunset is still divisive, it may not be such a bad gamble.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 03:40 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:08pm

Is anything else rumored to want the Palace for the Spring? I doubt the owners would want their newly renovated theater sitting empty for a long stretch. Maybe the producers of Ragtime might get a break on a 6-month lease/rental?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:09pm

MemorableUserName said: "You seem to have a lot of concern with how other people spend their money. Why does it matter to you? It's their money.

But given that we've already had this same conversation in the previews thread:

Now that Gypsy is looking like anything but a juggernaut and Sunset is still divisive, it may not besuch a bad gamgamble.

Because this is a discussion forum about both the artistry of theatre and the business. Like... what even is the point of putting up an entire production of a show with the sole hope of getting a Tony? Like Sunset is going to win Revival, like it or not. Nicole is very much likely to win Actress. So...?

 

[hyangsoo]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:32pm

Is the rumor for ticket sales at the Palace Theatre?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:44pm

TheatreFan4 said: "MemorableUserName said: "You seem to have a lot of concern with how other people spend their money. Why does it matter to you? It's their money.

But given that we've already had this same conversation in the previews thread:

Now that Gypsy is looking like anything but a juggernaut and Sunset is still divisive, it may not besuch a bad gamgamble.

Because this is a discussion forum about both the artistry of theatre and the business. Like... what even is the point of putting up an entire production of a show with the sole hope of getting a Tony? Like Sunset is going to win Revival, like it or not. Nicole is very much likely to win Actress. So...?"

So, sometimes people with a great deal of money (who are free to p*ss it away any way they so choose) are motivated by ego more than making more. Or, yes, even a love of the material and a belief it should be on Broadway. No domination kinks or twinks required.

The industry wouldn't survive without investors motivated by the above, not just those looking for a return on their investment.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 05:44 PM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 6:00pm

January announcement for a late spring/summer run maybe (if awards are a goal of rumored transfer)? 

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 06:00 PM

[goodtimes123]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 6:52pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "The rumor now is thatRagtimetix will go on sale January 7."

Wait I thought Jamie Lloyd had the rights to a Class A Production… 

 

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 7:53pm

MemorableUserName said: "So, sometimes people with a great deal of money (who are free to p*ss it away any way they so choose)are motivated by ego more than making more. Or, yes, even a love of the material and a belief it should be on Broadway.No domination kinks or twinks required.

The industry wouldn't survive without investors motivated by the above, not just those looking for a return on their investment."

I don't discount the belief of a producer thinking that Ragtime should be on Broadway. What draws my question, is that this is a staged reading/concert production. Would they actually BUILD a production around the cast or are we just going to move from City Center to Broadway with minimal improvements and call it a day as has been standard? And of course the biggest Elephant in the room, them doing it in the Palace. An absolute barn of a theatre when it couldn't even fill the Neil Simon with a Lavish production for 2 months in 2009. This show (certainly not as is) doesn't need a huge theatre and a small theatre not being available right now is not reason enough to drop it in The Palace and call it good. 

You are correct that Broadway wouldn't survive without producers sometimes doing it for ego over profit, but we should also not let their ego cripple a show's ability to survive on Broadway itself putting it in places it can't pay for. 

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 07:53 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:14pm

I think transferring Ragtime is certainly a very pitchable idea to investors, far more than many things that make it to Broadway. It's an acclaimed production of a known property, timely, there have been two major revivals from City Center in just the last few years (and one of those was a more obscure title and was not anchored by a major box office draw, as we learned this summer with Platt's Palace residency), its large cast and orchestra may be offset by a barebones production, and there are fairly good arguments to make about the production's awards odds as Gypsy may prove divisive, Scherzinger could emerge as the real winner over her production as a whole, and the other revivals on paper seem unconvincing. All fairly persuasive ideas that can be put succinctly into a deck.

Not saying that they would get me, personally, to open my wallet, but I would imagine they would get others to do so. And I think a lot of investors are, frankly, either gullible, capricious, just terrible at reading the room, or suffer from FOMO after seeing something they passed up become a hit. I have an acquaintance whose husband turned down investing in Oh, Mary!'s transfer- a foolish decision in hindsight, but nobody could've foreseen it becoming such a hit.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 08:14 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:27pm

For what it's worth, the "Broadway's Best Shows" newsletter (run by Jeffrey Richards and Jim Glaub) said this in its rumors section last week:

• Is Ragtime headed to Lincoln Center Theater under new artistic director Lear DeBessonet?
• New musical Queen of Versailles might be headed to the Palace Theatre this summer, earlier than expected!

RAGTIME produced by LCT in the 25-26 season would make much more financial sense than a commercial production. Rushing it to Broadway this season seemed foolish, as Tom Kirdahy is producing it and also has GYPSY and JUST IN TIME, which have significant financial capitalizations and will be competing in a lot of the same awards categories.

[ManOfLaMuncha]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:33pm

I just saw Elton John in the paper today, being led on and off the stage.  It seems he has lost his eye sight. I feel sorry for him, he's such a brilliant, creative man.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:37pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "For what it's worth, the "Broadway's Best Shows" newsletter (run by Jeffrey Richards and Jim Glaub) said this in its rumors section last week:

• IsRagtimeheaded to Lincoln Center Theater under new artistic director Lear DeBessonet?
• New musicalQueen of Versaillesmight be headed to the Palace Theatre this summer, earlier than expected!

RAGTIME produced by LCT in the 25-26 season would make much more financial sense than a commercial production. Rushing it to Broadway this season seemed foolish, as Tom Kirdahy is producing it and also has GYPSY and JUST IN TIME, which have significant financial capitalizationsand will be competing in a lot of the same awards categories."

And this is a much more reasonable plan for it. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:42pm

I had also heard that THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES would arrive at the Palace early next season, with or without a RAGTIME transfer. 

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:44pm

The Broadway subreddit had floated a possible LCT Ragtime. Limited run post Floyd ? 

And Queen would fit the earlier rumor that Ragtime was not the next show for the Palace floated here.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 08:44 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 8:50pm

Floyd Collins is a limited run? Ragtime wouldn't arrive until next Summer?