Palace Theatre – Shows I've Seen

@showsiveseen Won 1st row lottery tickets to @Elton John, @Jake Shears, & James Graham's "Tammy Faye" #musical at the beautiful Palace Theatre. Starring Katie Brayben & Christian Borle. She's the infamous Imelda Marcos & Evita of the #evangelical #Christian #church. Fantastic technical video design by Finn Ross. What a triumph! Review: showsiveseen.com/10272 Director: Rupert Goold Stage Managers: Timothy R. Semon, Joanne Pan, Fatimah Amill, Nic Steffes Choreography: Lynne Page #tammyFeye #religion #TV #television #broadway #showsiveseen #theatre #christianity @Tammy Faye on Broadway ♬ God Gave Me You – Blake Shelton

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Won 1st row lottery tickets to Elton John, Jake Shears, & James Graham’s Tammy Faye musical at the beautiful Palace Theatre. Starring Katie Brayben and Christian Borle. She’s the infamous Imelda Marcos and Evita of the evangelical Christian church. Fantastic technical video design by Finn Ross. What a triumph! #religion #TV #television

Recommendation:
See it, especially if you grew up in the evangelical Christian church.

My Synopsis (No Spoilers): The rise and scandalous fall of the 1970s American televangelist power couple, the Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker.

Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: The story of a traveling preacher’s wife who beamed into homes with a message of hope… and stole the country’s heart. It’s the 1970s. As satellites broadcast brand-new cable programming into American homes, millions fall in love with Tammy Faye Bakker–the charismatic wife of pastor Jim Bakker. Together, they build a nationwide congregation that puts the fun back into faith. But, even as Tammy dazzles on screen, jealous rivals plot behind the scenes, threatened by her determination to lead with love. Wrapped in a joyful and deliriously fun score that could only come from Elton John, with lyrics by Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, a book by Olivier Award-winning playwright James Graham, and directed by Olivier Award winner Rupert Goold, Tammy Faye shines a sparkling light on the generous, loving, often lonely soul behind the illustrious lashes. Reprising her celebrated West End performance, the divine cast is led by two-time Olivier Award winner Katie Brayben (Tammy Faye), two-time Tony Award® winner Christian Borle (Jim Bakker), and two-time Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris (Jerry Falwell).

Type: Musical

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: Several

Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several

Static (Stationary) or Dynamic Set: Dynamic

Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No, but you’ll appreciate this show more if you either grew up in the Christian church or knew about Tammy and Jim Bakker

Defined Plot/Storyline: Yes

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Union Actors: All

Total Actors: Too many to count

Perceived Pace of the Show: Medium speed

Was there an intermission? Yes

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.75 hours

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? Yes

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Absolutely!

Mainstream Appeal: High

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above

Music: Obviously, Elton John’s music was phenomenal and I can’t wait for the soundtrack. You can definitely hear his style in the “electric” gospel opening number “It’s the Light of the World” portraying Billy Graham’s trailblazing role in televangelism. Interestingly, the Olivier Awards performance in the UK was way tamer. Even the Good Morning America performance didn’t do the live version justice. Another favorite song was “He’s Inside of Me” because of how the lyrics expose how so many Christian expressions can be double entendres. Christian Borle (Jim Bakker) also sweetly effortless harmonized with Katie Brayben (Tammy Faye) in “If Only Love.”
Hair, Makeup, and Costumes: Luc Verschueren (Hair/Wig/Makeup Design) and Katrina Lindsay (Costume Design) realistically recreated the groovy (and tacky?) look of the 1970s. What were we thinking back then?
Set Design: Bunny Christie designed a fantastic backdrop of 42 squares with a fitting retro feel similar to The Brady Bunch TV show intro song and Hollywood Squares. Squares doubled as a TV screen or a window for actors to appear. Seattle Rep designed something similar with less squares and no doors in their Bruce play. Additionally, exposing the offstage wing walls during the TV set scenes was an efficient and effective use of the theatre space.
Video Design: What’s a musical about a TV evangelist without video? Finn Ross designed a setup that live broadcast the on-stage actors throughout the show on 20 of the “Hollywood Squares.” He also added effects, so the video resembled the 1970s. It was unique how the second act began with a live video of Katie Brayben (Tammy Faye) in her backstage dressing room as she made her way on-stage. The video setup was truly a technical marvel. However, there were sometimes when the retro TV frames partially obstructed text. Additionally, when theatre productions broadcast live video, there’s always a noticeable delay compared to what’s on stage. Nevertheless, the technical video setup exhibited some of the lowest latency I’ve seen in theatre … but there was still some delay. Is there any way to overcome this? Is it just a physical limit like the speed of light?
Gay PTL Members: The gay guys in the Praise the Lord (PTL) singing group were hilarious comedic relief. I loved it when Elliott Mattox (ensemble) seemingly enjoyed being whipped when reenacting biblical skits.
Controversial Interview: Speaking of homosexuals, as a gay man myself who grew up deep in the church, the scene about Tammy Faye’s historical interview with a homosexual pastor with AIDS hit home.
Iconic Fall: There is something incredibly delicious about observing an icon scandalously fall from glory and then rising above it. It’s like when Britney Spears shaved her head. She’s gonna be alright!
Commentary on Religion: Growing up in a conservative Chrisitan environment (and escaping to tell about it), I appreciated the critiques on Christianity in regard to politics, power, hypocrisy, control, and money.
Stunning Moments: From the blindingly bright flash in the second act opening song or the dramatic curtain fall, I do love a good shocker in the theatre. 😉
Favorite Lines: Something like “credit is another word for faith” and “Heritage USA [Christian theme park] is like Disney for good people.”

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

Audience Breakdown: It was interesting that the line to the men’s restroom was significantly longer than the line to the women’s restroom, which is unusual for a musical. In fact, towards the end of the intermission, the theatre had to allow men to use the ladies’ room because the second act was about to begin. I wonder if the audience was skewed to more men. If so, it’s probably because Tammy Faye could be considered a gay icon.
Historical Accuracy: There were many moments in the show when I wanted to check the historical accuracy. Was there really a scandalous phone call live on their TV show? Did Jan really have pink hair? Was the porn and underwear thing true? Did Tammy Faye sing on TV?

Venue: Palace Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 160 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036

Venue Classification: Broadway

Price Range: $59.75-319.50 plus the Broadway Direct fees if you’re not buying at the box office.

Ticket Affordability Options: See the show’s website for information on rush and lottery tickets. If I can win the lottery for this show, so can you! You’ll likely also find discount tickets at the TKTS booth.

Dates: Opening night was 11/14/24. As of 11/14/24, the ticketing website offered performances up to 3/30/25.

Seating: Assigned Seating

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