• Review For Us
    • In London or across the UK
    • at Edinburgh Fringe
  • List Your Show
  • Advertising
  • Musicals
  • Plays
  • Ballet & Dance
  • Previews
  • First Look
Theatre Weekly
  • Home
  • News
    • West End
    • Off-West End
    • Regional & Tours
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Digital Theatre
  • Tickets
    • Discounts
    • Musicals
    • Plays
    • Opera
    • Dance
    • Concerts
  • Edinburgh Fringe 2025
    • Edinburgh Fringe News
    • Edinburgh Fringe Previews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer
No Result
View All Result
Theatre Weekly
  • Home
  • News
    • West End
    • Off-West End
    • Regional & Tours
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Digital Theatre
  • Tickets
    • Discounts
    • Musicals
    • Plays
    • Opera
    • Dance
    • Concerts
  • Edinburgh Fringe 2025
    • Edinburgh Fringe News
    • Edinburgh Fringe Previews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer
No Result
View All Result
Theatre Weekly
No Result
View All Result
Home Reviews

Review: Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre

"a perfectly enjoyable show that will undoubtedly go on to have a further life, and let’s hope that future includes Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells"

by Greg Stewart
October 26, 2022
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Tammy Faye Almeida Theatre Credit Marc Brenner

Tammy Faye Almeida Theatre Credit Marc Brenner

This is by no means the first time that the life of Tammy Faye Bakker has been portrayed on stage; and previous musical incarnations include The Gospel According to Tammy Faye and Big Tent.  The advantage that Tammy Faye, now playing at the Almeida Theatre, should have is the heavenly creative team behind the production.

If you’re not familiar with the story of Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband Jim, James Graham’s script lays the groundwork well.  Slowly building up their meteoric rise to stardom from their small Christian puppet show to a satellite TV network that defined televangelism in the seventies and eighties.

The ‘electric church’ was already in existence, but it was the Bakker’s (and in particular Tammy Faye’s) unique style that took things to a whole new level.  This angered fellow televangelists, who in this version at least, take a less than Christian approach to usurping these new Messiah’s.

       

The Bakker’s didn’t really do themselves any favours either, spending millions of dollars donated by their congregation on a lavish lifestyle.  Jim Bakker was eventually indicted for fraud, having already been unfaithful to Tammy Faye.

The story here, speeds up their success, and understandably focusses fairly accurately on their demise. It’s striking how this show, primarily based on religion, has been overly sexualised – some of the obvious innuendo verges on pure panto – yet shies away from the true nature of the allegations of sexual assault against Jim Bakker.

You mightalso like

Dominic Cooke credit Taylor Jewell

Dominic Cooke Appointed New Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre

Rupert Goold Credit. Marc Brenner

Rupert Goold Announces Final Season as Artistic Director at the Almeida Theatre

Artistic license aside, Graham’s script is tight and often hilarious, while developing the characters beautifully.  It becomes very easy to sympathise with Tammy Faye because of the way the story has carefully been constructed.

Expectations are high in the auditorium for the score, this is a musical afte rall, and with music by Elton John and lyrics by Jake Shears, we’re all expecting something fabulous.  But it never really comes, the songs are all great to listen to, and drive the narrative forward but for much of the first act feel quite flat.

Tammy Faye’s big solo numbers ‘Right Kind of Faith’ and the 11 o’clock number, ‘If You Came to See Me Cry’ are incredible, mostly due to Katie Brayben’s superb vocal ability, and there’s no denying that the finale number, ‘See You In Heaven’ is the kind of earworm you’ll be humming all the way home.

In fairness, Rupert Goold’s production does seem to make things difficult for itself; as Katie Brayben performs one of the best songs of the whole show, you can’t help being distracted by the choreography in the background, as the ensemble appear to recreate the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  The bible and zombies make for two very different genres, and the combination here is just one of many odd choices.

       

Tammy Faye is already sold out for it’s entire run; there’s that creative team for a start, but we also have Andrew Rannells giving an outstanding performance in the role of Jim, although a few more solo numbers for this character would have been much appreciated.  With Rannells in such a prominent role, it’s hard not to spot a few similarities with The Book of Mormon; the theme park resurrection of Christ or the conference calls between The Pope and The Archbishop of Canterbury to name a couple.

Bunny Christie’s set design is very effective, made up of 1970’s inspired tiles that were used to create something akin to Hollywood Squares, light up in all the colours of the rainbow, and provide a backdrop to Finn Ross’s video projections.

Tammy Faye credits her success not to God, but “to the gays”, one scene depicts her infamous interview with a homosexual pastor with AIDS, but on the whole, and especially towards the end, it’s far more camp, much to the delight of the audience.

Just as the Bakker’s battled with other ministers, Tammy Faye finds itself battling between wanting to be a play and actually being a musical.  Mostly the individual elements are great, but bring them all together and it starts to feel disjointed.  However, it remains a perfectly enjoyable show that will undoubtedly go on to have a further life, and let’s hope that future includes Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells who outshine everything else.

Greg Stewart

Greg Stewart

Greg is an award-winning writer with a huge passion for theatre. He has appeared on stage, as well as having directed several plays in his native Scotland. Greg is the founder and editor of Theatre Weekly

Related Articles

Dominic Cooke credit Taylor Jewell
News

Dominic Cooke Appointed New Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre

Rupert Goold Credit. Marc Brenner
News

Rupert Goold Announces Final Season as Artistic Director at the Almeida Theatre

Exhibition Photography Malaga feat Michelle Hicks image supplied by publicist
News

Gianni Versace Retrospective to Open in London This Summer

Josh Elliott image supplied by publicist
News

Vital Xposure Appoints Josh Elliott as New Artistic Director

Comments 3

  1. Pingback: Almeida Theatre’s 2022/2023 Season Announced - Theatre Weekly
  2. Pingback: Casting announced for award-winning Antic Disposition’s musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, ‘A Christmas Carol’ - Theatre Weekly
  3. Pingback: 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards Nominations Announced - Theatre Weekly
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram

At Theatre Weekly we give theatre a new audience. You'll find our theatre news, theatre reviews and theatre interviews are written from an audience point of view. Our great value London theatre tickets will get you the best deal for your theatre tickets.
Theatre Weekly, 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX
  • Join Our Community
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising

Recent News

Elisabeth Gunawan in STAMPIN' IN THE GRAVEYARD (c) Valeriia Poholsha

Edinburgh Fringe Preview: Stampin’ in the Graveyard at Summerhall Arts (Red Lecture Theatre)

Donmar Schools Tour Image supplied by publicist

Frankenstein Adjusts His Ring Light (And Then Starts Dancing) Begins Donmar Warehouse’s 2025 Local Schools’ Tour

© 2022 Theatre Weekly

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Tickets
  • Digital Theatre
  • News
    • News
    • West End
    • Off West End
    • Regional & Tours
    • Digital
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Edinburgh Fringe 2025
    • Edinburgh Fringe News
    • Edinburgh Fringe Previews
  • Contact Us
    • Join us as a Reviewer

© 2022 Theatre Weekly