Elton John thinks recent musical flopped because 'it was too political for America': 'They don't really get irony'

Elton John is reflecting on his Broadway flop.

The "Tiny Dancer" singer recently discussed two of his theatrical projects — the New York City production of Tammy Faye and the West End staging of The Devil Wears Prada — and how different audiences' responses were to them.

"We put out two musicals recently, one a huge flop in America and the other a huge hit in England," John said of the shows, for which he contributed original music, in a new interview with The Times. (Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears wrote the lyrics for Tammy Faye, while Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick were John's cowriters on The Devil Wears Prada).

John explained that he thinks American audiences weren't ready to engage with Tammy Faye due to its critical political messaging. "Tammy Faye came out during the U.S. election and it's all about how the integration of church and state ruined America — which Ronald Reagan did," John said. "It was too political for America. They don't really get irony."

After an initial run on the West End in 2022, Tammy Faye transferred to Broadway's Palace Theatre in November 2024. The show, which follows the life of the late televangelist Tammy Faye Messner, starred Katie Brayben in the titular role and co-starred Christian Borle as Jim Bakker and Michael Cerveris as Jerry Falwell. It ultimately announced its closing just five days after it opened, and ran for only 24 preview performances and 29 regular shows.

In our review of the Broadway production, Entertainment Weekly's Emlyn Travis noted that the musical aims to chronicle its characters' "rise and fall from grace, as well as the absorption of Christian ideals within the Republican party during the televangelism boom in America. However, in trying to weave the two topics so tightly together, it doesn't truly dig into either, instead creating a surface-level, strangely lifeless look at a larger-than-life figure."

Travis wrote that John's "solid" music in the show provides "a bit of insight into Tammy's mind," but added that "there aren't many memorable tracks beyond 'He's Inside Me' and 'In My Prime Time' that stick with audiences after the performance."

Elsewhere in the Times interview, John said he hopes to record a contemporary pop album in the near future. "It would be lazy of me to sit in classic Elton John songs forever," he said, shouting out his 2021 dance track "Cold Heart" as one of his favorite recent endeavors. "I liked the Dua Lipa thing. I've done a new, banging dance tune, and I want to do an album of pop songs because pop is so good at the moment with people like Chappell Roan and Charli XCX."

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However, the "Crocodile Rock" legend lamented the current state of the pop charts. "At the same time, it's a fatberg in the singles chart right now because they just sit there," John said. "'Pink Pony Club' by Chappell Roan went to No. 1 recently and I played it in 2023. 'A Bar Song' by Shaboozey spent 19 weeks at No. 1 in America. I don't like it at all, to be honest."

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