When I first heard of "Tammy Faye ," the Broadway musical about the life of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, I was skeptical. First, it is such a niche subject that it doesn't seem like it would appeal to audiences below a certain age. Second, "The Eyes of Tammy" film had done such a great job of covering that subject that it felt superfluous and bound to be less good.
To make matters worse, the show was announced to close mere weeks after its opening, and that seemed to solidify my idea that this probably wasn't the winner it could have been, even with boasting music by legendary artist Sir. Elton John and a stacked cast consisting of Katie Brayben as Tammy Faye and Christian Borle as Jim Bakker, the musical seemed destined to fall into obscurity and not high on my list of things to go see.
However, chance and curiosity were on my side, and I scored two tickets to the Palace Theater for the show, allowing me the chance to confirm my bias about what was evidently wrong with the musical.
Fortunately for me, I was wrong!
It should be noted that I am not a musical theater aficionado, for me, it's a fun pastime to occasionally dip into because I live such a short way from Broadway. So, all my opinions are visceral, personal opinions, not coming from a place of deep knowledge of the theater.
With that disclaimer out of the way, I found "Tammy Faye" to be such fun. Quirky in the times that it needed to and profound in the others, the musical has to tow a very fine line in displaying the tragedy of Tammy Faye Bakker but with the glamour and upbeat positivity of how Tammy, ultimately, lived her life. Are there moments that feel schlocky and maybe too on the nose with its humor? Sure, but in a lot of ways, so was Tammy, and the show ends up being better for it.
I caught the show with understudy Autumn Hurlbert, and she was electric! I'm too young to have grown up with PTL and the rise and fall of the Bakkers, but I've always been one to go back and find things for myself. My awakening to Tammy Faye from the reality TV show "The Surreal Life," whose second season featured Faye cast alongside people one would normally expect to be too different to mix with a former televangelist but to know Tammy was to know that no one truly could be spared her love and respect. Hurlbert carried herself with so much of the mannerisms of Tammy Faye that I found immersion into the musical instant. The warmth that comes off of her feels genuine in that she feels as if Tammy has come down and blessed her with her approval to reach even more audiences. Hurlbert bobs and weaves through hammy Christian-themed songs before launching herself headfirst into startling vocal and acting dramatics that have her holding back tears while belting out notes. All of it is too much at points, but too much in the way that works. Too much in that, it shows the incredible strain on Bakker at the time and the grace she had to muster to get through it all.
Borle is never not good. Instantly, he has charm, wit, and humor. There's no doubt that the two characters could and would fall in love, and he delivers a great performance of Jim Bakker's failings and punishments that feels both justified and sympathetic, even if he doesn't quite reach the same level of nuanced rawness that Andrew Garfield exudes in "The Eyes of Tammy" film.
The rest of the cast and ensemble are great, each getting their moment to shine and delivering performances that promote laugh-out-loud outbursts and restrained tears. They serve the show so well to build a world that seems to be moving even when they aren't on stage, making the show's expedited chain of events feel more paced.
The music is fun. Not all the songs feel catchy and worthy of note, but the ones that do certainly are toe-tapping, hand-clapping good times with performances as good as any on Broadway. John truly is a master of his craft, knowing how to present vibrant ensemble songs and then tone them down for solos that have just the same power and effectiveness.
"Tammy Faye" will end with just under 25 performances in its run, and I find myself both shocked and a little proud of that. Shocked that it is a show worth going to (and a lot better than some very popular shows I've seen and did not enjoy) and proud that I'm amongst a small group who got to witness it.
Without giving too much away, the end of the show is a profound love letter to Tammy Faye herself. A perfectly staged and presented moment that feels like there could be no other choice in how to end such a musical. The moment felt earned and special, and while it happens several times a week and sometimes twice a day, my show felt extra special. There was a sense of rejoicing as the show came to an end. A journey everyone in that theatre went on together and, in the end, came out better, more loved, and more loving.
Any musical that can do that must be touched by God himself.
My Verdict: 8/10
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