Elton John’s $25 Million Broadway Musical Announces Closure Days After Opening

The curtains are coming down – and staying down – on Sir Elton John’s musical Tammy Faye just days after it opened on Broadway.

The Daily Mirror reports Tammy Faye,  a joint creation by the Tiny Dancer singer alongside James Graham, and Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears – officially opened at New York’s Palace Theater on 14 November.

Now the theater is going dark on 8 December following 24 preview and 29 regular performances.

The Mirror points to a simple lack of custom for the closure of a tale meant to tell the story of the life of Christian televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker:

The announcement was made amid poor box office performances for the Rupert Goold-directed production, with it bringing in a gross of $374, 371 in the week ending 17 November, with an overall attendance of 5,732 – just 63 percent of the venue’s capacity. It has also been criticised by US critics, with the New York Times branding it “strangely bland” and Variety dubbing the show a “misguided West End import”.

The closure news came just a day after Jake, who wrote the lyrics for the musical, reflected on the “ride” of bringing the production to life and how it had been one of his most “thrilling” adventures thus far.

According to reports cited by the Independent, Tammy Faye was capitalized at $25m and will lose it all.

The show featured music by Sir Elton (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) with lyrics by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters and a book by Dear England playwright James Graham.

It starred Katie Brayben in the title role, with Christian Borle as her husband Jim Bakker and Michael Cerveris as fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell.

The musical previously ran in London from October to December 2022.

In its review of the Broadway incarnation, the New York Times called the show “disjointed, strangely bland.”

Variety’s Frank Rizzo said the New York production lacked “any sense of confidence, consistency or purpose. It’s as messy as Tammy’s mascara.”

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