Elton John thinks his shuttered musical ‘Tammy Faye’ failed because it was ‘too political’

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

 2 minute read 

Published 2:30 PM EDT, Sun April 6, 2025

(From left) Katie Brayben and Elton John during the opening night curtain call ‘Tammy Faye’ on Broadway at The Palace Theatre in New York City in November. Bruce Glikas/Getty ImagesCNN — 

Elton John may be one of the best-selling musical acts across his decades-long career, but he isn’t afraid to acknowledge when a project fails.

The legendary singer candidly spoke to the Sunday Times in an interview published Friday about his Broadway production of “Tammy Faye,” which he described as a “flop.”

“We put out two musicals recently, one a huge flop in America and the other a huge hit in England,” he said, referring to “Tammy Faye” and the West End production of “The Devil Wears Prada,” respectively.

“Tammy Faye,” a musical based on the life of the titular singing televangelist, debuted on Broadway on November 14. The show failed to find an audience and closed a month later.

John suspects that the state of US politics intersecting with the timing of the show’s debut had something to do with why the musical never took off.

“‘Tammy Faye’ came out during the US election and it’s all about how the integration of church and state ruined America, which Ronald Reagan did,” he said, referencing the November 5, 2024 election. “It was too political for America. They don’t really get irony.”

In December, the New York Times reported the show underperformed at the box office and played to houses inside of the Palace Theater that were 37 percent empty.

John produced the music, Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters wrote the lyrics and Rupert Goold served as the director for the musical. Katie Brayben starred as Faye.

The “Saturday Night” singer has previously found huge success producing music for Broadway shows, including his work on “The Lion King” “Billy Elliot” and “Aida.” He most recently released a collaborative album with singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile titled “Who Believes in Angels?”