Elton John Pens Music for Tammy Faye Messner Musical

Tammy Faye Messner was the subject of a biopic last year that won Jessica Chastain her first Oscar. Next up for the late televangelist and gay icon is a musical with music by Elton John.

"The colourful life story of an American Christian superstar who became a gay icon because of her empathy for people with Aids/HIV is the subject of a new stage musical with a score by Elton John," reports The Guardian.

"Tammy Faye" has a libretto by James Graham, the author of the television dramas "Sherwood" and "Brexit: The Uncivil War," and the play "Ink."

Rehearsals began this week at the Almeida Theatre north of London. It will open at the theater on October 13 and run through December 3. The show is, said the Almeida, a "testament of faith, resilience and the temptations of success". The production features Olivier Award-winner Katie Brayben ("Beautiful") as Tammy Faye, Tony Award-nominee Andrew Rannells ("The Book of Mormon," "Girls") as Jim, and Olivier Award-nominee Zubin Varla ("Fun Home") as Jerry Falwell.

"Tammy Faye Messner died in 2007. During the 1980s, she and her husband, Jim Bakker, built a Christian television empire, with Tammy Faye making a strong impression with her warmth and outré looks. "At its height, the couple's flagship program, 'The PTL Club' (short for praise the lord), was seen in more than 13m households across the US," writes the Guardian.

Their empire collapsed when Jim Bakker was jailed for fraud and conspiracy; he had also been accused of raping and paying off a church secretary, which he denied. Tammy Faye divorced him, wrote three memoirs, and continued appearing on television. The Guardian notes her last appearance was with Larry King two days before she died of cancer at the age of 65.

Her bubbly personality and her willingness to address topics forbidden by other Christian broadcasters made her a lightning rod for controversy. Her embrace of the LGBTQ+ population and her empathy for those with AIDS set her apart from her more homophobic brethren.

"In particular," reports the Guardian, "her emotional 1985 television interview with Steve Pieters, an openly gay church pastor living with HIV, was a break with religious and political orthodoxy. At the time, some public figures were suggesting that AIDS was a divine punishment for homosexuality."

"It was a bizarre, baroque, almost operatic life story," said Rupert Goold, the Almeida's artistic director who is directing the musical. "She's at times kitsch, at times sentimental, but basically a very empathic figure."

Goold adds that the Bakkers' "theatrical" world lends itself to a musical, but with a serious subtext.

"We're in a really interesting time regarding faith and belief, with the repealing of Roe v Wade in various [US] states and the return of the idea of faith-based morality or legislation. There is talk that that may move towards gay marriage and parenting, and there'll be a policing of civil liberties and people's bodies. And it's not without resonances over here.

"So although 'Tammy Faye' is a historic story, and looks really at the birth of the prosperity gospel, it has something politically to say now."

Elton John has written the scores for five musicals, including such megahits as "The Lion King" and "Billy Elliott," as well as "Aida," "Lestat," and the upcoming "The Devil Wore Prada," currently in Chicago.

Goold says of John's music: "I think there's quite a lot of faith music and church music influences in classic Elton John. Tammy came to early fame in the '70s, and then became a different kind of public figure in the '80s and '90s. And the score in some ways traces Elton's own musicality through those periods as well."