Tammy Faye: A New Musical - Almeida

[dlevi]

I know I'm in the very small minority on this one but I actually hated it. I'm not questioning the professionalism of all involved and I thought Katie Brayben was terrific and I liked Andrew Rannells sly detachment in certain scenes. I thought the structure was fine as were Jakes Shears's lyrics. I found that Elton John's music was bland. But what I hated was the show itself. These were/are vile people who were part of the systematic destruction of the fabric of American Society. To sit in a show which seemed to me to lean toward forgiving them and even to a certain extent celebrating them became for me rather painful. Here in the UK we can look upon Televangelists as a joke, but over in the states it's serious business. This show might succeed here, but I they should think twice if they think they've got a Broadway smash on their hands.

[Paulw]

Nov 9, 2022 16:33:06 GMT hadeswasking said:

Nov 8, 2022 17:19:40 GMT hadeswasking said:

They gave the option for both but have to wait until its sold first

Had an eye out on the website to see if I could see it and didn't! Phoned today and it resold almost instantly. (Even though its almost a month away) They're issuing my refund and should be in my bank within a couple days. What a simple process!

mine was the same only difference was they asked me to call after the show that day and refund issued, I wish all ticket returns were that simple and we don't have to find a friend of a friend that will take it.

[craig]

Nov 10, 2022 0:10:34 GMT dlevi said:

I know I'm in the very small minority on this one but I actually hated it. I'm not questioning the professionalism of all involved and I thought Katie Brayben was terrific and I liked Andrew Rannells sly detachment in certain scenes. I thought the structure was fine as were Jakes Shears's lyrics. I found that Elton John's music was bland. But what I hated was the show itself. These were/are vile people who were part of the systematic destruction of the fabric of American Society. To sit in a show which seemed to me to lean toward forgiving them and even to a certain extent celebrating them became for me rather painful. Here in the UK we can look upon Televangelists as a joke, but over in the states it's serious business. This show might succeed here, but I they should think twice if they think they've got a Broadway smash on their hands.

I thought the show actively skewered and roasted the entire notion of televangelism and all that participated in it. It was pretty savage. Tammy was the only character that was given a sympathetic portrayal really.

[dlevi]

Nov 10, 2022 11:18:25 GMT craig said:

Nov 10, 2022 0:10:34 GMT dlevi said:

I know I'm in the very small minority on this one but I actually hated it. I'm not questioning the professionalism of all involved and I thought Katie Brayben was terrific and I liked Andrew Rannells sly detachment in certain scenes. I thought the structure was fine as were Jakes Shears's lyrics. I found that Elton John's music was bland. But what I hated was the show itself. These were/are vile people who were part of the systematic destruction of the fabric of American Society. To sit in a show which seemed to me to lean toward forgiving them and even to a certain extent celebrating them became for me rather painful. Here in the UK we can look upon Televangelists as a joke, but over in the states it's serious business. This show might succeed here, but I they should think twice if they think they've got a Broadway smash on their hands.

I thought the show actively skewered and roasted the entire notion of televangelism and all that participated in it. It was pretty savage. Tammy was the only character that was given a sympathetic portrayal really.

[dlevi]

Craig, I hit enter before I even wrote anything - you may be right but because everyone is dancing and clapping along it left me with the impression that it was all "ok", when in fact it's not. Sort of the musical theatre equivalent of dancing while Rome burns.

[kathryn]

It’s a musical. You can’t really have a musical with no singing and dancing…



Particularly when the subjects of the musical used singing and dancing as part of their own act!

[jm25]

Saw this tonight and thought it was wonderful. I actually came very close to not going - what with the Tube strikes and the remnants of a nasty cold, I really wasn’t sure I could be bothered given how much I hated the film version.

But I’m so glad I got over it and went! Unlike the film, which fell into the classic biopic trap of trying to cover too much, I thought this did a great job of drilling down on the key moments and characters. The songs were joyous and Katie Brayben was unbelievably good. Some of her solo numbers were jaw-dropping! What an incredible talent!

However, I would echo dinah’s comments about the £10 restricted circle tickets being a mistake. I’ve also had no problem with restricted view seats at the Almeida before but even for a cheap, restricted ticket I thought it was pretty poor. However, what I saw of the show (when peering round the heads in front) was so good that I can’t say I mind - still hugely enjoyed myself!

[kathryn]

Just managed to grab a ticket for tomorrow night. Was checking the site in the offchance and lucked out.

[Jon]

I know Jersey Boys isn't going anywhere but would The Trafalgar Theatre work for Tammy Faye?

[ThereWillBeSun]

WOW. WOW. WOW. Hats off to the Almeida. Blown away. I was in for the matinee today and this is personally my favourite show of the year. Katie Brayben is sensational as is Andrew Rannells. They work so well together as do the entire cast - not a weak link. Loved the costumes and Bunny Chrisie's set design. I think that the show could have just ended with Tammy Faye rather than the ensemble number. I didn't think that was going to happen; but other than that - I really enjoyed this!

I was sat in Stalls F12 - 'RESTRICTED VIEW' £10 - RV it is NOT! Booked there for Streetcar which is £5 dearer! However can't not mention this incident. It was SO awkward with two women behind me, in the stalls. Their phone blasted out during Act 1. They *eventually* turned it off and were being so noisy. Completely distracting so missed dialogue. It happened AGAIN. Rupert Goold (who was in) gave them a look. Needless to say there wasn't a third time...Then, just after the interval - a lady was kicking off because someone was in her seat F16...BUT she was in F18 and she *had* to sit in F16... (I think we were all puzzled.) People do confuse me!

Back to Tammy Faye; it really is the best thing I have seen for a long time! Will be reading the reviews as decided to go in cold. I did, however read up on who she was just to give myself a heads start. So intrigued about her. It deserves all the plaudits and a future life.

Also... there's been TWO other TF musicals?! Goodness!

[Rory]

[Jon]

I don't think Nica being at Tammy Faye necessarily means it's going to one of her theatres although samuelwhiskers has said they already have a theatre.

[kathryn]

Still loved it. Got a better sense of the musical ‘shape’ second time around because my ear recognised the bits that would be reprised later, that form the musical ‘themes’.

The bows were better tonight - people did realise they were meant to applaud (I think perhaps they tweaked the choreography to make it more obviously cast members coming forward for their moment). I think the ultimate problem with that number is the beat - it’s just not a beat you can clap along to, so the audience doesn’t build any applause momentum. You clap to acknowledge someone, then you stop until the next person is to be acknowledged. But it’s a very enjoyable number. Hopefully they’ll figure it out for the transfer.

[intoanewlife]

Saw this tonight and while it was certainly VERY entertaining, it is definitely a 5 star production of a 3 star show that still needs a LOT of work.

Act 1 is juuuuuust about there, but Act 2 is a total mess.

I would give Act 1 a 4/5 and Act 2 a 2/5.

The entire cast was fantastic though and I loved the staging and choreography,

Apart from the odd clunky lyric I thought Jake did a very good job considering it's his first musical.

But it is just far too long and there are too many repetitive sounding songs that seemed to go on for an eternity.

As a child of 80's talk shows I am very aware of the whole lurid lot of 'em, but I honestly don't know how anyone going into this blind would even follow it.

It is also a little confused by focusing too much on the whole evangelical movement which leaves Tammy pretty much a side character in her own show, especially in Act 2.

I don't know how they are going to fix it and they probably won't since it's had such a positive reception, but that would be a shame as it could be so much better.

I don't know if they fixed the ending or not, but I don't know how anyone could possibly struggle with what is happening.

It seemed very obvious to me that it ended and the last song was the bows.

[bobbievanhusen]

Nov 13, 2022 1:11:49 GMT intoanewlife said:

Apart from the odd clunky lyric I thought Jake did a very good job considering it's his first musical.

But it is just far too long and there are too many repetitive sounding songs that seemed to go on for an eternity.

As a child of 80's talk shows I am very aware of the whole lurid lot of 'em, but I honestly don't know how anyone going into this blind would even follow it.

It's not Jake Shears' first musical at all. He wrote the lyrics for 'Tales of the City'

I believe most people on this board went in blind and had no trouble following the story, it was quite clearly plotted, unlike the bows, which at the time, were a complete mess as evidenced by the numerous posts about it.

[showgirl]

Advice re seating, please, as so far there have been very few specific comments re this. I usually attend alone as it's easier but a friend wanted to see this so when more tix were released, I booked another but naturally couldn't get one anywhere near mine and both were cheap ones anyway. As I've no idea what the view would be like from either for this production, we planned to swap at the interval but is anyone able to advise whether there'd be much to choose between row E at the side and row K towards the back - both stalls?

[shownut]

I finally saw TAMMY FAYE last Monday evening and found it to be a very entertaining show (4 stars out of 5 from me), albeit one with potential to be a bit better. There is a lot more to Tammy’s story than what we get in this musical but what we do receive is often thrilling and stunningly theatrical.

Full Disclosure: I live in London but originally hail from Kentucky and grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition. I am also gay so a lot of what is represented in TAMMY FAYE really resonates with me. I remember PTL, Heritage USA, the 700 Club and the Bakker scandals quite well.

Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells have amazing chemistry and are working absolute magic on the Almeida stage. I also enjoyed most (but not all) of the supporting performances. There were at least two that I thought brought the whole level of the show down with disastrously awful Southern accents and cartoonish acting (which, admittedly, may have been in the direction).

James Graham has written an occasionally touching and often hilarious book but I wish we had a bit more meat on the bones when it comes to Tammy’s three main loves: Jesus, Jim and pills. Sadly we have no crystal clear reason as to how those relationships started – things just “are” and we are expected to just go along with it. Surely, a line of dialogue or two could fix that –the real-life stories behind all three are quite fascinating. But kudos to bringing in the Christian “Right” element and magnifying its awful presence from PTL’s heydays to present times.

As for score/lyrics, it was a show of two halves: a tuneful and brilliant act one followed by an only occasionally interesting (musically) act two. With a very strong first act it is admittedly hard to maintain that level of brilliance. I dare say “Empty Hands” is, is my opinion, one of the best first act finales since the act one closer of DREAMGIRLS. But that second act definitely needs another look to live up to promise of everything that preceeds it..

Much has been said in praise of the direction/staging/choreography. On this, I am very mixed. Every performance is played large and dialled up to 11. So how does a character like Tammy Faye stand out in this world? What made Tammy Faye Bakker so unique was her brazen, overblown but always honest, sweet, cartoonish, down-home nature. With make-up and hair you could see from outer space, she always played big, grabbed the spotlight and had an anthem for every occasion. In short, she was “just the girl-next-door…..if you happened to live next door to a circus”. Katie Brayben manages the impossible by crafting a character that somehow does stand out in the clownish nature of the show but she really shouldn’t have to work so hard.

I was not a fan of the choreography. Some of it worked but a lot of it was spoofy and gimmicky. Less would have been a lot more.

Despite any criticisms, I still came away adoring this show and I hope it gets another life beyond the Almeida. But, I also hope they go away and make some key revisions before a transfer and certainly before the score is committed to a cast recording. While I strongly disagree with the sum opinions of The Telegraph, Times and NY Post on this show, some of their criticisms were, in my opinion, partially correct.

Oh, and I owe Mickey Joe Theatre a slight apology, as having now seen the show, a lot of his criticisms (and praise) were spot on, especially about the tone of the show and the fact that we need more Tammy and more interaction of her with the other characters. I also agree that we need more before/after from her audience (the chorus) as it all seems to take place in a bubble. I initially thought he was looking at the show for what it could have been vs what it actually is and I was wrong. Apologies to MJT if he is reading this.

To comment further would be to include spoilers so …….

SPOILER: Click to show

{SPOILERS: Oh how I wish I was a show doctor.....}
Some thoughts:


- Is the show meant to be a fantasy/dream/hallucination from when we see Tammy going under and clock ticking backwards? If so, the broad, frenetic, slapstick tone makes a bit more sense but still…..the pace is so frenetic and fast that a fair amount gets lost. It feels as though they are playing ‘Beat the Clock’ at times and trying to cram in a lot of story within the first 1 hour and 20 mins. I hope they make a few trims and even out the pace a bit. 

- Act Two is mostly a mess.

- They should lose “Run This Show”. By far it is the worst song in the score and what it aims to say can be managed in a short 30 second scene. See “Prime Time” below. 

- The Jessica Hahn scandal was a big damn deal but we get little illumination except for a brief line she sings in “He Promised Me”. See “Prime Time” below. 

- “Prime Time” is a classic example of a wasted opportunity. Nice song but it takes us nowhere in four or more minutes. This is where the ‘Michael Bennett magic” could work wonders. They could start the song as is but between the three verses install very short scenes moving the story forward: the Jimmy Falwell/Crouch plot to destroy the Bakkers and another quick scene with financial and Jessica Hahn scandals beginning to brew. Maybe even progress it even more with costume/wig changes for Tammy each time she reappears? For some reason it reminded me of the original staging of “One Night Only” in DREAMGIRLS which handled this same problem brilliantly.

- “He Promised Me” and “Bring Me The Face of Tammy Bakker” are two songs basically saying the same thing. I would keep one (likely the later), chuck the other and give Jessica Hahn a song/scene somewhere. She was a major player in the real-life scandals and used as a tool to bring the Bakkers down. That needs to be clearer. Her character certainly deserves more stage time than Jan Crouch.

- The scene with Steve Pieters (minister with Aids) is good but false. Mr Pieters was not able to join Tammy in the studio so the interview was done remotely (via TV). She never physically hugged him so that didn’t really prompt outrage from the Christian Right. However, her compassion and saying she wished that she could hug him did. Isn’t that more powerful? In a post-pandemic age where many in the audience can relate to a year or more of having to settle with seeing loved ones via a screen without a touch or a hug, I think that would still resonate.

- We get little info on Tammy’s life post-scandal. The fact she remarried, made a comeback, turned life’s ‘lemons into lemonade’ doesn’t come through as strongly as it should. Yes, the conclusion of Act Two was good but it could be better. I did like the final two songs, but what a shame that the rest of the act was so uneven.

[robertb213]

Nov 13, 2022 12:09:19 GMT showgirl said:

Advice re seating, please, as so far there have been very few specific comments re this. I usually attend alone as it's easier but a friend wanted to see this so when more tix were released, I booked another but naturally couldn't get one anywhere near mine and both were cheap ones anyway. As I've no idea what the view would be like from either for this production, we planned to swap at the interval but is anyone able to advise whether there'd be much to choose between row E at the side and row K towards the back - both stalls?

I sat in row E at the very far side (E3), there is a narrow(ish) pillar directly in your eyeline and you miss most of the backdrop video screens and performers who appear higher up. Also the legroom is dreadful (I am really tall but it was definitely minimal even for a normal person), and you can also hear the cast chatting in the wings on the other side of the wall. Really not a great seat, for this production at least. But it was only £15.

[kathryn]

SPOILER: Click to show

Having seen it again, yes, I think the beginning and ending are ambiguous about whether what we are seeing is a dream/ flashback in the hospital. The question is whether that ambiguity is intended.

I would suspect so, and that they want the audience to be able to draw their conclusions based on their own beliefs.

[intoanewlife]

Nov 13, 2022 11:23:11 GMT bobbievanhusen said:

Nov 13, 2022 1:11:49 GMT intoanewlife said:

Apart from the odd clunky lyric I thought Jake did a very good job considering it's his first musical.

But it is just far too long and there are too many repetitive sounding songs that seemed to go on for an eternity.

As a child of 80's talk shows I am very aware of the whole lurid lot of 'em, but I honestly don't know how anyone going into this blind would even follow it.

It's not Jake Shears' first musical at all. He wrote the lyrics for 'Tales of the City'

I believe most people on this board went in blind and had no trouble following the story, it was quite clearly plotted, unlike the bows, which at the time, were a complete mess as evidenced by the numerous posts about it.

Ah of course, I'd forgotten about that one, but then I think most people had considering about 4 people saw it.

Either way he still did a pretty good job considering the difficulty of the task before him with telling so much of the story in the songs.

It is all 'there' I guess, but it is a very 'nice' truncated version of what actually happened and it all feels a bit lost in the mess that is Act 2. 

There are far too many songs (it almost feels like it is going to be sung through entirely at one point) and not enough book to guide the audience through the destruction these people caused to themselves and others and the tone is completely off. Tammy's drug habit is all but lost. Jim's infidelities are a confused mess. The damage they and everyone else caused to people (to this day) is summed up in a (tho utterly brilliant it must be said) joyous number with little empathy for the victims. Somehow in all of this the only person we are meant to feel sorry for is Tammy because she interviewed an Aids patient which also lands with what feels like a completely manufactured and manipulating clunk.

Worst of all is that none of it flows, it just all feels 'clunked' together. It is a simple story badly told, so to anyone who actually knows the full story it feels confusing. This may work in its favor here where no one knows the story, but it will not work with US audiences and nor will its jovial tone when things start to go wrong.

These people played a major part in putting the US where it is today, they have a hell of a lot to answer for.

So yes it is there and can be followed, but nothing is explored properly in favor of breaking into frivelous song. The book is much stronger than the songs in general, so they could easily ditch 2 or 3 songs in Act 2 (and frankly some could easily be lost or at the very least shortened in Act 1 as well) and improve the book. There is absolutely no reason it can't get serious for a while before returning to it's frivolous tone for the ending. 

Primetime is a total waste of time and a bad song. That ballad she sings for what feels like 20 minutes (but doesn't actually go anywhere) could be shortened by at least 10 minutes. The downfall of the movement would be better told in dialogue than in song and some empathy for the victims wouldn't go astray either which we do finally get towards the end, but only to make Tammy look like a less terrible person. Jim actually seems to get more empathy than anyone else.

Her actual plight also seems lost to me. If she was indeed this completely innocent wonderful person (this is all really still Randy and Fenton's manufactured for the gays version of Tammy that they've been peddling since before Drag Race became a 'thing') who became a deer trapped in the headlights of other peoples evil plans, then that isn't told by the material here, but by the greatness of the lead performance.

As for the ending...

As Kathryn said they have clearly 'fixed' it as it was very obvious (or maybe not) the show had ended at the fade to black (as most shows do). In fairness the stage should just stay dark for longer which would completely fix the situation pretty easily. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
Did Billie Graham run onstage and introduce a 'sing-a-long in heaven' in the original ending? Once again, it seems pretty obvious we are getting the encore.

To me it feels exactly the same as how Jamie ends which once again appears a little 'off' because it feels like we've just gone inside the prom when it is the encore, but people didn't seem to have a problem with that.

I don't see how this was any more confusing than the final scene 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
where we go from an operating room to heaven in the blink of an eye

This all feels like a by product of the fact that Act 2 just doesn't work.

[eoghan31]

I hope this musical finds a West End home in time for the award season as Katie Brayben gives a performance worthy of every award as Tammy Faye. As for the musical - well much to admire but… I could have done with less musical numbers as some of them did not advance the plot as they only served to entertain and I found myself losing focus on what was actually happening as they seemed to follow one after another - less sometimes is more especially when you have such a story story to work with and outstanding actors along with Katie Brayben such as Andrew Rannells and Zubin Varla. The Director needed to trust the book more than some of the songs as they made the story telling clunky. The staging is effective and the whole production has the feel of an award winning one. The solo numbers are particularly effective. A long time since I have heard an eleven o clock number as show stopping as ‘If You Came To See Me Cry’ performed with heartbreaking emotion which at the end should have had the audience on their feet - for me the best number in the show. I could see where the negative criticisms came from. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it - hopefully when it does transfer the musical will be where it needs to be.

[BurlyBeaR]

Changed the thread title to reflect the fact that we have a member who has confidently been saying this WILL transfer, but no theatre yet. 

If that member wants to reiterate their prediction- feel free! 

[kathryn]

intoanewlife

Jim Bakker’s infidelities were a confused mess in real life!
(And that - as we saw - was not unusual among those evangelical preachers. Or indeed other Churches!)

Can’t blame the show for that!





I do think that Prime Time is the weakest song lyrically. I like the early 80s Disco vibe of it though - if you know your music history then you’ll know that the early 80s were when Disco died - so it works as a portent of her downfall, and shows her hubris.

SPOILER: Click to show

The second act ensemble numbers are very much about her humiliation, and how public opinion turned on her personally and treated her both as a hate-figure and as a punchline. I wouldn’t cut any of them - I don’t think dialogue can get across the overwhelming volume of the scorn, the nature of a real pile-on, the way a chorus of voices can.

[mrbarnaby]

Katie Brayben

Katie f**king Brayben


Give her the Olivier now.

Andrew Rannells - fine. Unmemorable.

Zubin Varla - fabulous

Absolutely loved the supporting company in particular Amy Booth Steel who was camp as Xmas

[intoanewlife]

Nov 13, 2022 19:44:11 GMT kathryn said:

intoanewlife

Jim Bakker’s infidelities were a confused mess in real life!
(And that - as we saw - was not unusual among those evangelical preachers. Or indeed other Churches!)

Can’t blame the show for that!





I do think that Prime Time is the weakest song lyrically. I like the early 80s Disco vibe of it though - if you know your music history then you’ll know that the early 80s were when Disco died - so it works as a portent of her downfall, and shows her hubris.

SPOILER: Click to show

The second act ensemble numbers are very much about her humiliation, and how public opinion turned on her personally and treated her both as a hate-figure and as a punchline. I wouldn’t cut any of them - I don’t think dialogue can get across the overwhelming volume of the scorn, the nature of a real pile-on, the way a chorus of voices can.

We know now what he did, as we do with all the others.

In fact if they wanted joyous musical moments, surely that section could've been done in a more clever F.Y manner that would've suited it more than what is there now. 

For me the song mentioned in your spoiler was the highlight of the show, so I think they should leave that one well alone!

It fell apart entirely after that song for me.