Elton John: Broadway musical canceled after one week

Broadway doesn’t seem to be a good place for Elton John (77) at the moment: just a week after its initially acclaimed premiere, the musical “Tammy Faye” about the televangelist and musician of the same name has to close again. , the final curtain falls on the $25 million production on December 8th after just 29 regular performances.

From London’s West End, “Tammy Faye” was also supposed to conquer the United States of America. But New York critics and the audience were not particularly impressed by the play directed by Rupert Goold (52). “A Misguided Production”, . Even the pure numbers were sobering after just a few days. In its first week, the musical grossed less than $400,000 at just 63 percent capacity.

The template seemed promising: the life of the US singer Tammy Faye Messner (1942-2007), known in the 1970s and 1980s as the wife of the scandal-ridden televangelist Jim Bakker (84), offered enough material. Supported personally by Elton John, the musical premiered in London in 2022 – and received an overwhelmingly positive response in Great Britain. Four Olivier Awards, including Best Musical, ultimately paved the way to the infamous Broadway.

But neither the interesting story nor the songs written by Elton John and Jake Shears (46) were able to convince the New York audience. “Tammy Faye” is John’s second Broadway musical after “The Devil Wears Prada”, which continues to have a successful run in London.

Shortly before the bad news, Shears had described working on “Tammy Faye” for Broadway as “one of the most exciting experiences” of his life. Now the Broadway adventure ends after less than 30 performances. Elton John himself has not yet commented on the end of his piece.