Katie Brayben in “Tammy Faye”
(Photo: Matthew Murphy)
Tammy Faye, the new musical about famed televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, will play its final Broadway performance at the Palace Theatre on December 8. Directed by Rupert Goold, the production opened November 14 and will have played 24 previews and 29 regular performances at the time of its closing.
Katie Brayben leads the cast in the title role, a performance that earned her a 2023 Olivier Award. The Broadway cast also features two-time Tony winner Christian Borle as Jim Bakker and two-time Tony winner Michael Cerveris as Reverend Jerry Falwell. Rounding out the company are Nick Bailey as Paul Crouch, Charl Brown as Steve Pieters, Mark Evans as Billy Graham, Allison Guinn as Jan Crouch, Ian Lassiter as Jimmy Swaggart/Ronald Reagan/Archbishop, Raymond J. Lee as John Fletcher, Max Gordon Moore as Thomas S. Monson/Marvin Gorman, Alana Pollard as Jessica Hahn and Andy Taylor as Pat Robertson/Ted Turner. Autumn Hurlbert is the Tammy Faye alternate.
Tammy Faye has music by Elton John, lyrics by ex-Scissor Sister Jake Shears and a book by James Graham. The musical had its world premiere at London’s Almeida Theatre in 2022 and was nominated for four Olivier Awards.
“Tammy was from a Christian movement that was associated with the moral majority and conservatism. And yet she became this LGBTQ icon and was central to the centering of the AIDS discussion in this country,” Goold told The Broadway Show. “She’s definitely flawed, but with a big heart.”
