Elton John musical about Tammy Faye Bakker headed for Broadway

A musical on the controversial late wife of disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker will debut Saturday on Broadway at the Palace Theatre in New York City. The show Tammy Faye characterizes her as a traveling preacher’s wife who put the fun back into faith, according to the musical’s summary. The show originally debuted on London’s West End in 2022 with performer Katie Brayben as Tammy. Brayben will reprise her role alongside Broadway veteran Christian Borle for the show, currently scheduled to run through March 2025. Popularly known for his mainstream pop music career, Elton John’s Broadway composition credits include The Lion King, Billy Elliot, and Aida. Jake Shears, a 2000s pop rock singer, penned the lyrics based on a book by British playwright James Graham.

What happened to Tammy Faye? The Bakkers rose to fame in the 70s and 80s for hosting The PTL Club, the then-popular evangelical TV show that became a multi-million dollar ministry. The couple left the TV ministry the same year when a church employee accused Jim Bakker of sexual misconduct. Two years later, the televangelist was sentenced to 45 years in prison for misusing over $150 million in ministry funding. Tammy Faye was never implicated in the fraud and divorced Jim after his incarceration. She later remarried, changing her name to Tammy Faye Messner, while still appearing on television and radio. She died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 65.

What is her legacy? Tammy Faye, known for her heavy makeup and flamboyant style, drew audiences with her gospel singing and comedic spirit, but she was also marked by controversy. She famously interviewed a man who claimed to be both a practicing homosexual and a professing Christian who suffered from AIDS during the 1980s epidemic. Later in life, she engaged with LGBTQ activists and showed up at gay pride events. In 1987, she gave on-camera testimony about her years-long addiction to prescription drugs.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger’s review of a recent biopic of Tammy Faye’s life starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield.