Elton John hasn’t had many flops in his long career. But the Broadway production of Tammy Faye, the musical he’s written with Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters is undoubtedly one – it’s closing after just five days.
The show, based on the life of evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, originally ran for two months in London’s West End in 2022. It was reviewed positively and transferred to Broadway this autumn, with opening night last week.
But sales haven’t been great, with plenty of empty seats at the Palace Theatre. An insider told Mail Online that the show simply hadn’t connected with the New York audience. "It was always going to be difficult, even the writers feared the storyline didn't translate for the audience," the source said.
"The 1700-capacity venue was only selling 300 tickets a night. This is not exactly great for Elton."
"The first-night reviews were not exactly positive," the insider reportedly added. "They thought they'd be cancelled before the year is out."
Indeed reviewers were cutting. The New York Times called the production "strangely bland", while Variety criticised its “thin storytelling” and declared it a "misguided West End import" that is “as messy as Tammy’s mascara.”
The show will run until December 8 after which it will close after just 29 regular performances.
Jake Shears was putting a brave face on it on social media: "What a ride these last 12 years (and 12 weeks) have been. Getting Tammy Faye up on Broadway has been one of the most thrilling experiences of my life," he wrote on Instagram on Monday.
"What a joy working with this entire cast, their stamina and talent staggering… and beautiful to watch. Thank you to all the collaborators, cast and crew.. I'm immensely proud of our work. I believe that musical theatre is one of the most archaic forms of art: complicated and managerially elaborate.”
He continued: "It's the same process as it was 800 years ago. There are no shortcuts. And that's what I love about it the most. Also having fun with brilliant, wonderful people. Thank you Team Tammy, and thank you to all my fam and friends that have supported me and encouraged me through the entire process."
Musical theatre is indeed fiendishly difficult to get right and has been the graveyard of many a pop star eager to conquer Broadway (or even the West End). Elton can console himself that he isn’t the first to come a cropper in this way. The Pet Shop Boys’ Closer To Heaven lasted just five months in the West End in 2001, whilst Paul Simon spent ten years working on The Capeman only to see it close after 68 performances in 1998.
