Rating: 50 out of 100
Performance: Thursday, October 24, 2024 8:00 PM
Venue: Palace Theatre
Seat: ORCH R - ROW V (Broadway Direct Lottery)
Cast: No Understudy or Replacements
Review
Walking into the gorgeously renovated Palace Theatre last night, I had high hopes for “Tammy Faye.” As someone who didn’t grow up during the televangelist era, I was curious to see how this story would resonate with a modern audience. The opening image of mascara-streaked eyes on the scrim promised an evening of camp and drama, but what followed left me surprisingly disconnected from both the story and its characters.
I found myself struggling to connect with Elton John’s score throughout the evening. Despite my repeated attempts to find that one earworm to hum on my way home, none of the melodies managed to stick. This was particularly disappointing given Sir Elton’s impressive Broadway track record. Christian Borle, who absolutely delighted me in “Some Like It Hot” last season, seemed somewhat restrained here as Jim Bakker. While Katie Brayben delivers a technically strong performance as Tammy Faye, I couldn’t help but wish for more of the larger-than-life energy that made the real Tammy Faye such a fascinating figure.
The show’s biggest issue isn’t its performances or even its music – it’s its uncertainty about what kind of story it wants to tell. Is this meant to be a campy celebration? A serious examination of faith and fame? Without having lived through the Bakkers’ rise and fall, I found myself wondering why this story needed to be told now, and more importantly, why it needed to be told through music. While the production looks beautiful in the Palace Theatre’s newly elevated space, I left feeling that this potentially fascinating story of religion, television, and redemption never quite found its way to glory.
Playbill
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