Remember Tammy Faye Messner? She’s now Broadway-bound in an Elton John musical.

And the present, merely titled “Tammy Faye,” has obtained some star energy behind it: Pop icon Elton John composed the rating, whereas Jake Shears, a member of the platinum-selling band Scissor Sisters, wrote the lyrics.

But arguably the actual star is Tammy Faye Messner, identified for her heavy eye make-up and fast rise to fame, which was then adopted by a precipitous fall. Messner and Bakker constructed an entire community out of their “PTL” (as in Praise the Lord) program and in addition created a Christian theme park referred to as Heritage USA. The couple’s enterprise earned them $120 million yearly, however their world fell aside when Bakker obtained caught up in a intercourse scandal after which particulars in regards to the pair’s lavish way of life made headlines.

Bakker ultimately went to jail for fraud and conspiracy. Messner divorced him, remarried and have become a homosexual icon, actress and writer alongside the best way. She died in 2007 from colon most cancers.

“Tammy Faye” involves Broadway after a run on London’s West End, the place it obtained some constructive evaluations. The New York Times praised John’s rating as “a savvy amalgam of country twang and rousing pop-rock ensemble numbers,” whereas the show-business commerce publication Variety referred to as the musical “riotously entertaining.”

Still, the manufacturing might face some headwinds. For starters, simply because a present is a couple of well-known determine hardly means it’s a slam dunk. Consider “Diana,” the musical about Princess Diana, which lasted lower than two months on Broadway.

Not to say the truth that “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” the 2021 film about Messner, was thought of a dud on the field workplace, grossing solely $2.6 million worldwide. (Though it did win its star, Jessica Chastain, an Oscar.)

Plus, Broadway itself has but to completely get better from the pandemic. Shows grossed $1.58 billion throughout the 2022-23 season — a couple of 14% decline from the pre-pandemic 2018-19 peak of $1.83 billion.

“It’s going to bounce back, but it’s taking longer than anybody expected,” stated Craig Laurie, chief artistic officer for RWS Global, a New York-based theatrical and live-event firm.

Still, Elton John has had a robust monitor document on Broadway. Specifically, his musical “The Lion King,” based mostly on the Disney
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movie for which he contributed songs, has turn into a Broadway behemoth, grossing $1.9 billion because it opened in 1997. Just final week, it added practically one other $2 million in ticket gross sales.

Victoria Cairl, a New York-based theatrical producer, additionally says that “Tammy Faye” might have a broad enchantment: Older audiences are possible accustomed to John’s music and Messner’s story, whereas the youthful crowd will know Jake Shears’ work. That might give “Tammy Faye” a a lot wider market than the norm for Broadway.

“There are very few shows that are cross-generational,” Cairl stated.

Producers for “Tammy Faye” weren’t out there to remark in regards to the present’s Broadway arrival.