It takes greater than a holy spirit and revivalist verve to make “Tammy Faye” divinely suited to musical theater.
It will take a artistic staff realizing what their present desires to be: a campy hoot, a stinging indictment, an anguished melodrama, a witty satire, a revealing biography? The brand new Broadway musical “Tammy Faye” touches on all of those factors of view however lands on none with any sense of confidence, consistency or goal. It’s as messy as Tammy’s mascara.
This misguided West Finish import, directed by Rupert Goold with songs by Elton John, begins its story of the teary televangelist with a way of depraved outrageousness. A white-gowned Tammy (Katie Brayben) is revealed rising right into a celestial gentle to the sounds of a heavenly refrain. However she’s not assembly her maker — she’s assembly her proctologist, the place a medical scan reveals colon most cancers. The analysis propels Tammy right into a flashback of a life blended with religion, love and guilt.
At a megachurch gathering led by Billy Graham (Mark Evans, suitably charismatic), Tammy meets her future husband Jim Bakker (Christian Borle), an itinerant Christian puppeteer. His method to preaching induces eye-rolls within the Evangelican patriarchy, led by Jerry Falwell (Michael Cerveris) and together with Pat Robertson (Andy Taylor), Jimmy Swaggart (Ian Lassiter) and Marvin Gorman (Max Gordon Moore).
However the optimistic pondering Tammy encourages in Jim makes the duo a substitute for these “doom and gloomers,” and the pair vogue a ministry that’s loving, enjoyable and fabulous. Finally they persuade Ted Turner (Taylor once more) to launch PTL (“Reward the Lord”) satellite tv for pc community, and it’s there the place they grow to be stars of biblical proportions.
The hundreds of thousands of followers are quickly drawn to Tammy’s emotive character — in addition to the nontraditional and upbeat segments on cooking, vogue and options to erectile dysfunction. Because the non secular rivals grow to be threatened by the Bakkers’ huge satellite tv for pc congregation, Falwell realizes a possibility to develop his personal energy properly past his ministry.
On the floor, Tammy Faye Bakker would appear to be a pure determine to convey into the world of musical theater the place strong-willed, larger-than-life girls are gloriously worshipped.
However look nearer and discover a problematic character of a non secular determine with an ostentatious life-style, drug dependency and a willful obliviousness of her husband’s rip-off that exploits the poor.
In ebook author James Graham’s sweeping-yet-thin storytelling, Tammy’s flaws are softened, glossed over or blithely sung via. With no vital character to stability the bitter, to probe the psychology, or supply a perspective, it’s onerous to think about the present. A minimum of “Evita” had Che.
The second act brings the inevitable fall from grace, which is far much less enjoyable than the climb. Tammy’s empathetic embrace of a homosexual pastor with AIDS on her discuss present begins the downfall of their empire, together with the revelation of her husband’s sexual encounter with church secretary Jessica Hahn (Alana Pollard), and of Jim’s shady scheme in creating the Christian housing growth/theme park, Heritage USA.
Just like the documentary and Michael Showalter’s movie “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Graham (“Ink,” “This Home”) makes an attempt to position the present within the context of a bigger nationwide conservative motion — exploited by Falwell “to place God within the White Home.” However the musical by no means goes past the apparent notes of spiritual hypocrisy, greed, egos and pandering politicians.
The few lifts the present receives are from lighthearted cameos from different figures of energy in politics, media and faith: Ronald Reagan (Lassiter), the Archbishop of Canterbury (Lassiter once more, whew), Thomas S. Manson, the pinnacle of the LDS Church (Moore), Ted Turner (Taylor) and Pope John Paul II (Taylor). Curiously, their personalities and views are by no means musicalized.
Brayben, who created the position in London, does her finest to navigate the large swings of tone, at all times giving Tammy coronary heart, soul and a giant voice. However she is just not helped by John’s rating, with lyrics by Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. The songs are undistinguished and unrooted in character, crammed with generic and instantly forgettable energy ballads, Christian pop tunes and revivalist flooring stompers.
Tony winner Borle works onerous to convey some life as Tammy’s troubled husband, however Graham provides him little through which to work aside from puppet voices for humor and a meltdown for drama. Cerveris’ wealthy baritone give his Falwell a deep chill, however he too has little goal however to pop up, sneer and look foreboding.
Setting the ‘80s interval tone with pastels and loads of pink are Katrina Lindsay’s costumes. Bunny Christie’s set is anchored by a towering wall of tv screens, however little else.
In yet one more present this season that ends within the afterlife, Tammy lastly involves phrases together with her all-too-mortal sins and sees the sunshine of a presumably forgiving God. Audiences is probably not so charitably inclined.
