TAMMY FAYE Reviews — Page 9

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.

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

Who the hell knows anymore.

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?

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?

Is the rumor for ticket sales at the Palace Theatre?

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

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

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.

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.

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

LCT productions are always initially limited runs. They can extend and/or become open-ended, but always start limited.