From the QG Department of Houston Religious Oddities: The Gospel According To Tammy Faye, a new musical, debuts at the Alley Theatre in Houston this weekend. The performances are being staged by a local Methodist church with proceeds benefiting the church's support network to assist those affected by HIV/AIDS.
You might think that this musical is a SNL- style parody of the famous televangelist--her hair, makeup, propensity to shed tears, and general over-the-toppedness. Not so. Apparently the playwright and composer, both of whom are gay, intend a sympathetic portrayal of her rise from poverty to the lavish lifestyle a televangelist, the fall after her husband Jim Bakker was imprisoned and their ministry bankrupted, and her re-emergence as a gay-friendly, albeit fundamentalist Christian public figure now battling cancer.
They're hoping to take the play to Broadway eventually.
Oh, golly.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anyone who could cry so profusely. And be so bad at it. You'd think she would get better with practice.
Ooh. Maybe they can get Jessica Hahn to play the title role and then we'll all do a group hug.
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine how the play will go over.
ReplyDeleteI saw her in an interview not long ago. She seemed like such a different person.
I give her a lot of credit for building a bridge, as she puts it, to a community of people that the fundamentalists don't normally align themselves with.
ReplyDeleteI think many of us could learn something from her, although most people just seem to want to poke fun.
Saw her interview last night with Larry King. She's 65 pounds, still wearing all that makeup. I find her an enigma. So material with the "stuff" of the world. Yet a spirit filled champion of society's underdogs. And a faithful champion. Never let up once. And forgiving. She and Jim Bakker ended up friends.
ReplyDeleteOnly God can say, finally. All I can say is God bless her soul.
yikes. how much tragedy is just simply too much?
ReplyDeleteWhat PG said. Poor Tammy.
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