Elton John‘s Broadway musical has been axed, less than one week after its launch.
The show, based on televangelist Tammy Faye Messner’s life story, launched on 14 November but struggled to sell tickets after poor early reviews.
Elton, 77, wrote the music for the show while Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, 46, penned the lyrics.
Despite a hotly anticipated move from London’s West End, where it had performed solidly, Tammy Faye: A New Musical did not fare as well in its new location. Producers announced on it will have its final curtain call on 8 December.
An insider reportedly told Mail Online the show had failed to connect with New York show-goers.
“It was always going to be difficult, even the writers feared the storyline didn’t translate for the audience,” the source said.
“The 1700-capacity venue was only selling 300 tickets a night. This is not exactly great for Elton.”
The source explained unsupportive early reviews of the show had “killed it” leaving those in the industry anticipating it was always “at risk of not working”.
“The first-night reviews were not exactly positive,” the insider reportedly added. “They thought they’d be cancelled before the year is out.”
The New York Times called the production “strangely bland”, while Variety declared it a “misguided West End import”.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Library Of Congress – Public Domain