The Almeida’s Autumn 22 – Spring 23 announcement was one of the most exciting pieces of theatre news of the past year. Not only an innovative new production of A Streetcar Named Desire between December and February, but the global premiere of Tammy Faye, a new musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by the Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears and book by award-winning writer James Graham. A force to be reckoned with, surely!
Tammy Faye tells the story its titular character, a Christian Evangelist who, along with her husband Jim, aimed to ‘put the fu back into faith’ through the medium of television. Premiering a musical about televangelism in London, where the concept is somewhat alien, was a bold choice. Arguably, it’s a stroke of genius, as the audience are blank canvases with less engrained opinions. However, the musical therefore would have benefitted with a lot more context about both Evangelism to begin with, and later the downfall of the “electric church”‘s key players. Evangelist Billy Graham takes to the spotlight in an early number of the musical and I was glad I’d seen the episode of The Crown in which he prominently featured, otherwise his significance would have been lost. Later on in the show, the darker side of televangelism and the Bakker’s fundraising scheme is glossed over, which seems to be a missed opportunity. The gaps the musical leaves are apparently covered in ‘The Eyes Of Tammy Faye’, the film starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, so maybe that should be considered required viewing before the stage production of her life? Or better yet, maybe the musical could have explored these themes too?
The cast helped bring this musical to the next level – Katie Brayben as the titular character was sensational, transitioning through the stages of Tammy Faye’s life with ease. Her vocal skills matched her ability to be absolutely immersed in the character, and she deserves every nomination that she will receive during awards season. Starring as her husband Jim Bakker, Broadway star Andrew Rannells’ initial entrance was made through the stage’s stalls entrance, meaning us up in the circle heard him before we saw him; his strong vocals recognisable from The Book Of Mormon’s soundtrack instantly lifted the room.
Although the roles were incredibly well performed, the musical could have benefitted from more depth to Jim and Tammy Faye’s relationship. As the show begins, the audience are thrust into their early married life as puppet-touring Evangelists, so it’s presumed we might get some flashbacks or something to understand how they ended up in this lifestyle but unfortunately all we get is a 5 second blink-and-you-miss-it flashback dance to Crocodile Rock. The snippet is a reminder that the musical’s original soundtrack is penned by Elton John: music that is almost, but not quite as strong as the classics.
Additionally, Zubin Varla delivered a strong performance of the Bakker’s key rival Jerry Falwell, however this supporting role was thrust into the spotlight far too often. Although clearly intended to be portrayed as boring and dull to juxtapose the extravagance of the Bakkers (a fellow Evangelist tells him in Act 2 that he has ‘no charisma’), I can’t understand why the creative team wasted so much of the script and two mighty numbers on him. A musical already on the long side at 2h 50 min, the time could have been better spent understanding the effects of Tammy Faye’s tumultuous lifestyle on her wellbeing – she is the titular character, after all.
The set was absolutely dazzling – screens covering the back of the stage emphasise the immersion of television in the Bakkers’ life. The screen’s boxes were used to act as television sets in people’s homes, and also live projected certain musical numbers on a massive scale behind the stars – although the small theatre meant you didn’t necessarily need to see them on a huge screen, it conveyed the larger-than-life persona of the Bakkers at the height of their fame.
Overall, although Tammy Faye is musically one of the strongest London has seen over the past couple of years, it would have been a perfect hit if it had been cut a bit shorter and developed its core themes deeper. However, I have no doubt a West End transfer is on the way, so make sure to see it when it does! In the meantime, let’s all pray for a cast recording to relive its soundtrack again!
Images used throughout: credit to Mark Brenner
