“Tammy Faye,” Elton John’s new Broadway musical about televangelist Tammy Faye Messner (Katie Brayben, who played the role in London), her husband Jim Bakker (Christian Borle), and the Reverend Jerry Falwell (Michael Cerveris), will end its Broadway run on Dec. 8.
The closing announcement came less than a week following its opening night. No reason was provided for the closing, but it is presumably due to mixed-to-negative reviews and low box office grosses. The show plays the newly refurbished and restored Palace Theatre, which will probably find a new tenant by the spring.
In 2006, another flop musical with music by Elton John, “Lestat” played the Palace Theatre. (“Lestat” was then followed by “Billy Elliot,” John’s best musical to date.)
‘Blue Man Group’ to close after 17,000 performances
“Blue Man Group,” the wordless spectacle of drumming and bald men covered in blue paint that has run at the Astor Place Theatre in the East Village since 1991, will close on Feb. 2 following over 17,000 performances, the New York Times reported. (The news is currently not reflected on the show’s website.)
If you have not seen it before, the show just announced a Black Friday special from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 for deeply discounted tickets.
McKittrick Hotel to shut down along with ‘Sleep No More’
As previously announced, the immersive theater hit “Sleep No More” will play its final performance on Jan. 5 following numerous last-minute extensions, which ultimately added another year to its run.
It has also now been confirmed that the McKittrick Hotel, the converted warehouse in Chelsea where the show is presented, will also close for good in January following three final farewell parties, titled “Apparitions,” from Jan. 9-11.
In addition to “Sleep No More,” the McKittrick (which is noted for its mysterious atmosphere) presented other shows and offered nightclub entertainment, experimental performances, dining, and cocktails.
PBS cancels screening of ‘Ragtime’ reunion
Once again, the ability to access a filmed capture of last year’s one-night-only reunion concert of the original Broadway cast of “Ragtime” (not to be confused with the recent City Center production of “Ragtime”) has been shut down.
Earlier this year, a screening of the concert in movie theaters across the country was called off due to issues with obtaining the consent of numerous theater unions. Now a PBS broadcast of the concert, which had been slated for December, has been called off, apparently for the same reason as before.
The sold-out benefit performance was originally planned for 2020 and was then postponed due to the pandemic. Participating original cast members included Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Peter Friedman, and Judy Kaye. Kelli O’Hara played Mother, the role originated by the late Marin Mazzie.
Jeremy Jordan to depart ‘Gatsby’
Jeremy Jordan, who will play his final performance as Jay Gatsby in the new Broadway musical adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” on Jan. 19, is already set to play another title character, Floyd Collins in “Floyd Collins,” which will be produced on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater in the spring.
Based on a true tragic story, “Floyd Collins” (which has songs by Adam Guettel and a book and additional lyrics by Tina Landau, who will also direct the production) depicts a young cave explorer in 1925 Kentucky who becomes trapped underground.
