In 2000, the $15 million Disney musical “Aida” bought a zero’s welcome to Broadway.
The present starring Heather Headley and Sherie Rene Scott was slammed by theater critics (“a pompous bore,” mentioned The Put up’s Clive Barnes) and didn’t handle a coveted Tony Award nomination for Greatest Musical.
However, as male lead Radames sings, fortune favors the courageous. “Aida” caught it out, offered loads of tickets, and ran for 4 years on the Palace Theatre thanks to 2 phrases prominently emblazoned on the marquee: Elton John.
Nearly 1 / 4 century later, and that world-famous identify has all however turn out to be a legal responsibility.
On Tuesday, the “Crocodile Rock” singer’s $25 million “Tammy Faye,” a migraine about mascara set to music, posted its closing discover solely 5 days after opening night time. The present — which had been effectively obtained within the UK, besides by me — takes its ultimate bow on Dec. 8.
“Tammy Faye” will seemingly go down because the season’s largest flop.
Stated a wag: “The shocker is that it’s gonna chance another three weeks!”
What a shocking downturn for the composer of the continuing smash “The Lion King” and the Tony-winning hit “Billy Elliot: The Musical.”
On the identical time, no person round Broadway is all that shocked.
The Rocket Man retains crashing down, time and again.
Since “Billy” premiered in London’s West Finish in 2005, John, 77, has delivered dud after dud.
First, there was the $12 million vampire debacle “Lestat,” primarily based on Anne Rice’s novels, in 2006.
Musicals in regards to the undead by no means work. Simply ask “Dance of the Vampires Star” Michael Crawford.
“Lestat”’s greatest music, imagine it or not, was when little Claudia sang “I Want More” about her new urge for food for blood. The mega-flop closed after 39 performances. (Ten greater than “Tammy,” for these preserving rating at dwelling.)
After which in 2022, his “Devil Wears Prada” face-planted on the runway throughout its Chicago tryout. New York critics descended on the Windy Metropolis like Trend Week. I known as the wreckage “a haute mess” and the Instances mentioned, “Nothing fits.”
The flustered present shoved its couture right into a carry-on and scurried off to the relative security of London the place it’s been revamped by “Kinky Boots” director Jerry Mitchell, a brand new rent.
At a media occasion for “Tammy Faye” in March at Hudson Yards, John informed me he wholeheartedly agreed with my one-star evaluate of “Prada.”
Come to consider it, at that “Tammy Faye” presser, he had little or no to say about, um, “Tammy Faye.” That ought to’ve been a purple flag.
John has a well known behavior of handing off his scores, after which not being too concerned within the demanding manufacturing course of on account of his touring schedule. He additionally lives in London together with his husband (and “Tammy” producer) David Furnish and their two kids.
Standing at arm’s — or purple satan wing’s — size is nothing new for Elton. He solely watched “Aida” a handful of instances earlier than it opened (and notoriously stormed out of 1 preview), and he first noticed “The Lion King” on opening night time. John took in “Prada” on Aug. 3. Critics took it out on Aug. 7.
“What is the job of an author on an evolving work of art? To work, to shape, to cut, to polish,” mentioned one business supply. “He has no care, no involvement.”
Added one other: “Sir Elton is not a musical theater writer.”
Like his reveals or not, John has three hits to show he, at the least, was a musical theater author. The difficulty is that the newest one closed right here 12 years in the past.
Again in March, John informed me he had written a number of new songs for “Prada 2.0” in London, knew the place the issues had been, and insisted it was being retooled from high to backside.
It opens on Dec. 5. And I’ll be there on the Dominion Theatre in three weeks to catch the brand new model with star Vanessa Williams as Runway editor Miranda Priestly.
However right here’s a sneak preview. An unimpressed Broadway supply who’s already been informed me “The ‘Devil’ wears nada!”
