High-Profile Broadway Show Announces Closure Just Days After Opening: Bad News for ‘Tammy Faye’

TAMMY FAYE, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, December 8, according to BroadwayWorld.com By the end of its theatrical run, the show would have played 24 previews and 29 performances at the Palace Theater. The musical tells the story of a traveling preacher’s wife who provided messages of hope and won the country’s heart. TAMMY FAYE initially premiered in London’s Almeida Theatre in Fall 2022, where it was nominated for four Olivier Awards, including Best Musical.

The musical follows Tammy Faye’s rise to fame, scandals, and the backlash against her being a gay rights advocate. In 1985, she raised awareness of HIV and AIDS.

The musical features arrangements by Elton John (also the musical’s creator), lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, a book by Olivier Award-winning writer James Graham, choreography by Lynne Page, and direction by Olivier Award-winner Rupert Goold. The show stars two-time Olivier Award-winner Katie Brayben as Tammy Faye Bakker, two-time Tony Award-winner Christian Borle as Jim Bakker, and Two-time Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris as Jerry Falwell.

Many of the reviews were negative. Greg Evans for Deadline wrote that “Tammy Faye is only slightly more fun than church on a hot July day. All concerned seem absolutely determined to transform the town madcap into a respectable, saintly and rather dull church-lady-next-door.”

Robert Hofler of The Wrap likened the musical to a “ghastly waking nightmare.” He later added: “We’re expected to find Tammy Faye sympathetic, even though she begs for money from poor people so she can look like a hideously dressed drag queen.”  

The show is closing less than a month after its U.S. release. It did not land well with American audiences. 
The Guardian notes the show failed to fill more than two-thirds of its audience capacity. In the week ending 17 November, it drew an overall attendance of 5,732 (63% of capacity).