”Tammy Faye” cancels final Almeida Theatre performances

Stand-out and sold-out new musical Tammy Faye has been forced to cancel its final performances, the Almeida Theatre has announced.

Posting an update on social media, the venue said: “Due to illness within the company, we are extremely sorry to have to cancel our final performances of Tammy Faye. Box office will be in touch with everyone who had tickets for these cancelled performances ASAP.

“Sadly, we didn’t get to say goodbye to the show the way we wished…We still want to say a massive thanks to this phenomenal cast, to the entire team who worked so hard, and to everyone who came down and made Tammy Faye such a special show.”

Led by Katie Brayben in the titular role alongside Andrew Rannells as Jim Bakker, Elton John, James Graham and Jake Shears’ show received a glowing review from WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton, who described it as: “a vibrant, multi-coloured telling, of an astonishing, mascara-coated life, riding the wave of television”.

The events echo that of at the start of the year, when the venue was also forced to cancel performances due to illness within its Spring Awakening cast.

That said, audiences shouldn’t lose hope that this is the last we’ll see of Tammy Faye – lyricist Jake Shears posted a comment saying: “See you after intermission kids” on social media – suggesting a future life is very much being courted.

Book writer James Graham commented: “Making theatre is still so challenging right now. Big fat new musicals especially. This has been a blast, with absolute legends. Thank you to the audiences that filled our houses, queued for returns, and gave us joy. Bye for now, Tammy Faye… ”

With its sublime reviews and a stand-out score, there’s certainly a number of reasons why this show could be back before we know it.