The Electronic Church Musical Scandal
The wife of a disgraced, televangelist is an unusual subject for a musical but so was Eva Peron. Put into the mix music by Elton John, Rupert Goold’s direction, the book by James Graham and the musical of Tammy Faye has exceptional promise. It stars Katie Brayben, Olivier winning lead of Beautiful the Carol King musical and Broadway star Andrew Rannells who was the first Elder Price in Book of Mormon.
I had not previously heard of her, despite spending time in North Carolina but her life story is significant for her bravery in the 1980s in embracing gay men with HIV when fundamental Christians were condemning what they called the gay plague. She said herself that when things were difficult for her, she had great backing from the Gays.
Statistics about the American Mid-West and South always stagger me when you see the percentage of people who read the Bible daily. No wonder it is called the Bible Belt. The musical opens with Tammy Faye (Katie Brayben) being told that she had cancer of the colon. Apparently there are no women proctologists at that time in the USA. The set is white and bright, a grid of blank, white framed television screens. She is dressed in white and her death is imminent.
We flash back to the 1960s with her meeting the quiffed evangelist Billy Graham (Peter Caulfield). Tammy Faye and her husband Jim Bakker (Andrew Rannells) had a television programme for children featuring puppets. They later were on Pat Robertson (Nicholas Rowe)’s Christian channel, founded their own televangelist program until broadcaster Ted Turner (Nicholas Rowe) offered them their own channel for PTL, or Praise the Lord.
This PTL channel founded in 1974 espoused Christian values, Jim Bakker’s preaching, Tammy Faye’s singing, glitzy entertainment and home values. Within a year the PTL Club was generating an annual income of $120 million. In the musical this evangelical ministry is a blend of Gospel and Rock music with the congregation channelling jazz hands and the spirit moving them.
People are fascinated by Tammy Faye’s beautiful singing voice and warm personality. They reach out to touch her hands on the television screen. “He’s Inside Me” is her song referring to God, of course! The channel sells domestic goods, everything even underwear.
But there is criticism of the Bakkers from another jealous televangelist, Jerry Falwell (the magnificent Zubin Varla) who has coupled his ministry with a new morality and presidential candidate Ronald Regan. They call the 1960s the “Devil’s Decade”.
The founding of Heritage USA is launched in 1978. $200 million of PTL funds are used to build this Christian retreat and theme park which at its height rivals Disneyland and Disneyworld in popularity.
In October 1985 Tammy Faye invited Steve Pieters (Ashley Campbell with a magnificent singing voice) a young gay pastor who talked about having AIDS. When most churches were brimming over with homophobia, this was a loving public act which won her admiration from the LGBT+ community. Steve Pieters talked to Tammy Faye about the pain and hurt of his AIDS and the loss of friends and the comfort from religion.
Elton John’s music for Tammy Faye is tuneful and memorable of his 1970 soft rock hits. At one point the television puppets, an alligator and Susie Moppett sing “Crocodile Rock” and you realise how much his music in this show fits that decade.
Jim Bakker’s fall from grace brings charges of fraud, allegation of rape and acts of homosexuality. Andrew Rannels is compelling as the disgraced and imprisoned pastor but as Tammy Faye, it is Katie Brayben’s outstanding singing numbers and her compassion for those suffering that wins you over. Her marital betrayal suffering too is there, “ I feel like a torn dress you can’t mend.” The song “Empty Hands” closes Act One.
Act Two has Tammy Faye on her own. There are scenes from the dramas at Heritage USA, for instance in the Heritage Theater, the actor playing Samson hating his short hair and the crucifix yielding Jesus dancer. PTL is destroyed by scandal and Jerry Falwell takes over Heritage USA but doesn’t make it work. I was impressed with Zubin Varla’s deep register singing voice.
Tammy Faye was known for crying on television, her penultimate song is “If You Came to See Me Cry”. The final scene goes back to the hospital where Heaven is getting ready for Tammy Faye in “See You in Heaven.”
For a critical response can I recommend the witty 1991 video of Genesis singing “Jesus He Knows Me” which has a Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker lookalike alongside the dollar registers piling up.
Musical Numbers
Act One
PTL Prologue
Light of the World
If Only Love
PTL TV Theme
Open Hands/Right Kind of Faith
He’s Inside Me
Satellite of God
God’s House/Heritage USA
Empty Hands
Act Two
Prime Time
Run This Show
Right Kind of Faith (Reprise)
He Promised Me
Bring Me the Face of Tammy Bakker
God’s House (Reprise)
Look How Far We’ve Fallen
If You Came to See Me Cry
See You In Heaven
Production Notes
Tammy Faye
Music by Elton John
Book by James Graham
Lyrics by Jake Shears
Directed by Rupert Goold
Cast
Starring:
Andrew Rannells
Katie Brayben
Zubin Varla
Ashley Campbell
Peter Caulfield
Nicholas Rowe
Amy Booth-Steel
Colin Burnicle
Danny Collins
Fred Haig
Gemma Sutton
Georgia Louise
Katie Bradley
Kelly Agbowu
Martin Sarreal
Michael Kent
Richard Dempsey
Steve John Shepherd
Robyn Rose
Creatives
Director: Rupert Gooldl
Set Designer: Bunny Christie
Costume Designer: Katrina Lindsay
Choreographer: Lynne Page
Musical Supervisor, Arrangements
and Additional Music : Tom Deering
Lighting Designer: Neil Austin
Sound Designer: Bobby Aitken
Video Designer: Finn Ross
Orchestrations: Tom Deering and Mark Dickman
Musical Director: Alex Beetschen
Information
Running Time: Two hours 50 minutes with an interval
Extended and Booking until 3rd December 2022
Theatre:
Almeida Theatre
Almeida Street
London N1 1TA
Phone: 020 7359 4404
Website: almeida.co.uk
Tube: The Angel
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge
at the Almeida
at the evening performance
on 27th October 2022