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    Elton John, After Eye Infection, Says He Couldn’t See His Own Musical

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    After a performance of “The Devil Wears Prada” in London, John told the crowd that the effects of an eye infection were continuing to limit his eyesight.Elton John’s eyesight problems have persisted to the point where he could not see a performance of his own musical in London on Sunday night, he told the crowd after the show.John, 77, appeared onstage after a charity performance of the musical “The Devil Wears Prada,” for which he wrote the score, at the Dominion Theatre.“I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews, because as you know I’ve lost my eyesight, so it’s hard for me to see it,” he said, wearing bright red sunglasses. “But I love to hear it.”John announced in a social media post in September that an eye infection this summer had left him “with only limited vision in one eye.”“I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye,” he added. “I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and I am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.”He provided an update on “Good Morning America” late last month. “I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July,” he said. “It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see, and my left eye’s not the greatest. There’s hope and encouragement that it should be OK.”Asked about a possible new album, he replied: “Going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start. I can’t see anything, I can’t read anything, I can’t watch anything.”John did not respond to requests for comment on Monday sent through his talent agencies.When “The Devil Wears Prada” opened in Chicago in 2022 with a different cast, The New York Times said in a review, “The songs unfold pleasantly enough, with flashes of glam and morsels of wit, but they tend to feel last-season.”The musical is based on the 2006 film and the 2003 best-selling semi-autobiographical novel by Lauren Weisberger. The London production stars Vanessa Williams.John also wrote the score for “Tammy Faye,” which is set to close on Broadway this week after only 29 regular performances. He has also written the score for some hits, including “Billy Elliot” and the long-running “The Lion King.”In January, John picked up an Emmy, giving him a lifetime sweep of the major American awards, an accolade known as an EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. But he was not present at the ceremony to receive the Emmy because of a knee operation. More

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      in Theater

      ‘Tammy Faye’ Musical to Close After Failing to Find Broadway Audience

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      Well-reviewed in London but poorly received in New York, the musical with an Elton John score will end its run on Dec. 8.“Tammy Faye,” a new musical about the scandal-wracked singing televangelist, will close on Broadway after an unexpectedly short run, a major disappointment for a costly and ambitious show that picked up some good reviews in London but was poorly received in New York and failed to find an audience.The musical, which opened on Nov. 14, will close on Dec. 8, at which point it will have had 24 preview and 29 regular performances.The show was capitalized for $22 million, according to a spokesman for the production (it could have raised up to $25 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but wound up budgeted for less). The box office performance has been disastrous: last week, it was the lowest-grossing show on Broadway, and played to houses that were 37 percent empty in one of Broadway’s largest theaters.The show has an accomplished creative team. The music is by Elton John and the lyrics are by Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters; the book is by James Graham, a well-regarded British playwright; and the director is Rupert Goold, who is the artistic director of the Almeida Theater in London. The show had an initial run at the Almeida starting in the fall of 2022.“Tammy Faye” is at the Palace Theater, which recently resumed operations after a lengthy renovation. Reviews were mostly negative; in The New York Times, the critic Elisabeth Vincentelli called it a “disjointed, strangely bland musical.”The cast is led by Katie Brayben, making her Broadway debut as the title character, Tammy Faye Bakker; she won an Olivier Award for her performance in London. She is joined by Christian Borle as the protagonist’s husband, Jim Bakker; Borle, a two-time Tony winner, was a late-in-the-game replacement for Andrew Rannells, who played the role in London and was announced for New York but left the project after failing to reach an agreement on employment terms with the producers.“Tammy Faye” is produced by Rocket Stage, which is John’s production company, along with Greene Light Stage, which is led by Sally Greene, and James L. Nederlander. Nederlander is the president and chief executive of the Nederlander Organization, which operates nine Broadway houses including the Palace. More

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      Why ‘Tammy Faye’ the Musical Feels Like a Redemption

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      The televangelist defended gay men during the AIDS crisis. Now she’s getting perhaps the gayest tribute: a Broadway show led by Elton John.Anyone interested in Tammy Faye Bakker — the chirpy televangelist queen of the ’80s — can watch a documentary and a biopic about her, both called “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” or read the autobiography “Tammy: Telling It My Way.”There’s also plenty out there about Bakker’s bonds with gay men, which was exhibited most poignantly in 1985, when on Christian television she did what many conservatives considered unthinkable: She interviewed a gay man who had AIDS, the Rev. A. Stephen Pieters. She admonished Christians — “we who are supposed to be able to love everyone,” as she put it — for not embracing the dying.Now the most famous daughter of International Falls, Minn. — who died of cancer in 2007 at 65 — is getting perhaps the gayest tribute a person can have: a Broadway musical.“If you were an outcast or pariah, Tammy Faye loved you even more,” said Elton John, the composer of “Tammy Faye,” which opened Thursday at the Palace Theater in Manhattan. “That’s what happened with her and gay people.”Through bald farce, earnest biography and a pop-country score, “Tammy Faye” details how she and her husband, Jim Bakker, started the television program “The PTL Club” in the 1970s and became highly successful televangelists, only to have a fall from grace in the late 1980s, amid sex and financial scandals, and later divorcing.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Review: Tammy Faye Was Over-the-Top. This Musical Makes Her Small.

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      “Tammy Faye,” a bland, tonal mishmash of a show opening on Broadway, seems afraid to lean into what made the televangelist so distinctive.“Tammy Faye,” the new Broadway musical about the televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, kicks off with a projection of a set of eyes in close-up, mascara running down in a dramatic streak.It’s a visually arresting reference to the real-life Bakker, whose electrifyingly made-up eyes, encased in clumped lashes, gave her a look of perpetually startled innocence. Not for nothing, there have been two films titled “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” — a documentary narrated by RuPaul in 2000 and a 2021 feature for which Jessica Chastain won an Academy Award for best actress. Together, they represent what Tammy Faye, who died in 2007, is now famous for: camp iconification and performance of the self.But after that teasing introduction, Tammy Faye’s signature Kabuki facade barely figures in the disjointed, strangely bland musical that opened on Thursday at the newly renovated Palace Theater. It is laudable that the show’s composer, Elton John; lyricist, Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters); book writer, James Graham; and director, Rupert Goold, tried to go behind the mask of this complicated, outsize woman, whose public persona was shaped by and for television. The problem is that they ended up making her smaller than life.Brayben won an Olivier Award for her performance in the original production in London.Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesThe show, which originated two years ago at the Almeida Theater in London, is a straightforward look at the rise and fall of Tammy Faye (Katie Brayben, who won an Olivier Award for her performance in the original production). The climb begins when she encounters Jim Bakker (Christian Borle, leaning hard on his comic skills) in the 1960s. The couple share a sunny vision of proselytizing Christianity, delivering their message through playful puppets rather than fiery sermons. We follow them as they take to the airwaves and pioneer the use of television to spread the gospel and raise a lot of cash. By the 1970s, they have their own satellite network, PTL, on which they host a popular program.And then the wheels fall off the wagon, as the Bakkers are swayed by money, sex and, in Tammy Faye’s case, pills.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Music

      Elton John Says a Serious Eye Infection Limited His Vision in One Eye

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      The entertainer said on social media that it would “take some time” before sight returned to his eye.Elton John said he was recuperating from a severe eye infection that limited his vision in one eye, but that he was optimistic about his recovery.“Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye,” the entertainer wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday. “I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.”Thanking a team of nurses, doctors and family members who have cared for him, he added that he was “feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.”John, 77, has faced other medical challenges recently.In January, he won an Emmy for outstanding variety special for his live streamed farewell concert at Dodger Stadium, making him the 19th person to secure an EGOT, or win all four prestigious entertainment awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. But he was not present at the ceremony because of a knee operation.The “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, billed as his last, stretched across 330 concert dates from its start in 2018 to 2023. Some of the tour dates were postponed while he underwent hip surgery after a fall and when he contracted the coronavirus.He decided to stop touring to spend more time with his husband and children, who live in Britain, his representatives have said.John, a longtime leader in gay rights activism, was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden in 2022. More

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      How Big Is Taylor Swift?

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      You might have heard: Taylor Swift cannot be stopped. Her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” sold 2.6 million copies in its opening week last month, earning Swift her eighth Billboard No. 1 album since 2020. At the Grammy Awards in February, she became the first artist to win album of the year for a […] More

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      in Television

      Elton John Secures EGOT With Emmy Win

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      Elton John secured an EGOT on Monday night, joining the select group who have won all four major entertainment awards — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony — when he won an Emmy for outstanding variety special for his livestreamed farewell concert at Dodger Stadium.John has won five Grammys, a Tony Award for best original score for “Aida,” and two Oscars for songs in “The Lion King” (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”) and “Rocketman” (“I’m Gonna Love Me Again”).With his Emmy for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium,” which streamed on Disney+, John became the 19th person to gain the title. The rather elite club includes Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis.John, 76, was not present at the Emmys ceremony because of a knee operation, said Ben Winston, an executive producer of the show who accepted the award on John’s behalf.John said in a statement that he was “incredibly humbled” by the honor.“The journey to this moment has been filled with passion, dedication and the unwavering support of my fans all around the world,” he said in the statement. “Tonight is a testament to the power of the arts and the joy that it brings to all our lives. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, I am incredibly grateful.”The live concert, which took place at the Los Angeles stadium in 2022, carried echoes of the pop star’s pair of shows at the same venue in 1975, when, in his late 20s, John played hits such as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Bennie and the Jets” to a sold-out venue. More

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      Exclusive: Elton John’s Auction Has It All: Boots to Banksy

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      Elton John is downsizing — and the superstar’s former penthouse residence in Atlanta has been emptied for a series of auctions at Christie’s starting on Feb. 21. The items are expected to bring in an estimated $10 million.Want the Yamaha conservatory grand piano where the Rocketman plunked the keys of his Broadway shows “Billy Elliot” and “Aida?” It will cost roughly triple what similar models sell for online, with a high estimate of $50,000.How about Julian Schnabel’s portrait of the superstar dressed in a gown and ruffled collar? The auction house is seeking $300,000.And the most expensive object, a 2017 Banksy painting of a masked man hurling a bouquet of flowers, secured directly from the anonymous artist, is expected to sell for nearly $1.5 million.Included in the auction: prescription sunglasses by Sir Winston Eyeware that Elton John owned; a diamond pendant necklace set with round diamond letters spelling “The Bitch Is Back,” estimated at $20,000-$40,000; a Cartier sapphire ring, 18k yellow gold, $50,000-$80,000.Vincent Tullo for The New York TimesJohn declined to comment on the auction. (Agostino Guerra, a Christie’s spokesman, cited “long-planned scheduling conflicts.”) However, the singer’s husband and manager, David Furnish, discussed the sale in a recent interview.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      in Movies

      Rob Reiner Teases Details of ‘Spinal Tap’ Sequel

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      Speaking on a podcast this week, the director said Paul McCartney and Elton John will appear in the film, among other real musical stars.The director Rob Reiner has said that an upcoming sequel to his 1984 documentary parody “This Is Spinal Tap” is scheduled to begin shooting in late February and will feature Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks, among other stars.“Spinal Tap” satirized a bungled tour by a fictitious British heavy-metal band of that name, as well as the process of documenting it. The film, which was mostly improvised, was inspired by “The Last Waltz,” a Martin Scorsese documentary about the rock group the Band.Plans for “Spinal Tap II” were first announced last year. The entertainment news outlet Deadline reported at the time that the members of the fictitious band — the actors Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer — would all return for the sequel. Over the years, the three have played real-life concerts as their Spinal Tap characters.Reiner announced new details about the “Spinal Tap” sequel during an episode of a podcast hosted by the comedian Richard Herring that was released on Monday. The film had initially been scheduled for release in 2024, but that was before strikes that disrupted filming schedules in Hollywood. No updated release date has been announced, according to Variety.Without elaborating, Reiner said that there would also be a few other surprise appearances in the film.For most of the podcast episode on Monday, Herring and Reiner mostly talked about Reiner’s new podcast, “Who Killed JFK?” But they also discussed the original “Spinal Tap” movie, his directorial debut, which Herring said was his favorite film of all time.Asked if he regretted anything about what was and wasn’t in the 1984 film, Reiner said no. And did he anticipate how influential it would prove to be? Also no.“When we first previewed it, we previewed it in a theater in Dallas, Texas, and people … they didn’t know what the heck they were looking at,” Reiner said.“They came up to me afterward and said, ‘I don’t understand. Why would you make a movie about a band that nobody’s ever heard of? And they’re so bad! Why would you do that?’” Reiner recalled. “They said, ‘You should make a movie about the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.’”“I said, ‘Well, it’s a satire,’” Reiner said on the podcast. “I tried to explain, you know. But over the years, people got it, and they started to like it.”Reiner’s comments on Herring’s podcast were reported earlier by the music magazine NME and other outlets. More