Tammy Faye: A New Musical - Almeida

I'm not sure that taking it into a West End house would have improved its lot on Broadway, although it may have given the show some more buzz. The bunch who pass for critics in the UK are average columnists who know little about theatre and almost nothing about musicals. Just like Groundhog Day and (Bad) Cinderella, which reviewed relatively favourably in the UK, its creators would have had a rude awakening on Broadway. I remember years ago Michael Riedel smirking on an episode of Talkin' Broadway as he warned 'beware the musical from London...' an attitude that still holds true.

It's a shame, albeit a predictable one, that this is bombing on Broadway. But the knowledge and insightful analysis of New York critics is wonderful and its a joy to read their response. The quality of their copy and the word counts make me envious. If London had stronger critical insight, we'd have a healthier ecology that generated better musicals to begin with.

Posts relating to Broadway moved to the Broadway thread in International

theatreboard.co.uk/thread/11304/tammy-faye-new-musical-broadway?page=8

I haven't seen this show, but I don't think there is any reason to worry every time a British musical fails in America. I think it's natural, as they are two different cultures, and British should not expect, or hope for, validation from the Broadway crowds or, more especially, worry about American critique. It's just their view and that doesn't validate or negate the quality of the work that was taken there. Broadway shows have failed to replicate their success in the West End and that doesn't mean they were bad shows. It just means that responses to shows vary depending on the culture. Personally, I think American audiences tend to have difficulties with anything that is somehow critical of their more cherished values (religion, individualism, optimism, Capitalism), whereas the British generally welcome and love original and critical takes on any aspect of life. Just consider British interest around unorthodox productions of Shakespeare, not only local ones, but from around the world. Apart from that, many people, and not only Americans, have an innate attraction to Broadway aesthetics, with its great stress on optimism (even in tragedies), cleanliness, sparkle and order. Other people don't. They appreciate cynicism, ambiguity and darkness. It's probably a bit like the difference between the American and British versions of The Office. Personally, I find many American reviewers rather parochial, and they seem to resent and be almost offended at any attempt to mess with the American formula for Musical Theatre, which they regard as an American art. I think this view impoverishes, constrains and severely limits creativity. Finally, I think it's very hard to define artistic success, but, as it has been pointed out in this board, it is not really dependent on commercial success.

If there was, there definitely won't be now.