With her enormous, mascaraed eyes, Tammy Faye Messner was this countryยs most famous present-day female televangelist in the ย80s. Even after her fall from grace (then-hubby Jim Bakker was caught stealing from the church coffers), Tammy Faye managed to resurrect herself. Like a Phoenix rising, she became an inspiration to an even wider audience with her simple message of universal acceptance. So it comes as no surprise that someone would make a musical out of her wild and woolly life. The Gospel According to Tammy Faye, by J.T. Buck and Houstonยs own Fernando Dovalina, starts with her born-again moment at age ten and follows her life through its ups and downs, all the way up to her current fight against cancer. After traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Portland, Oregon, the show, created with Messnerยs blessing, is coming back to town for a run at the Alley Theatre. Go, and be prepared for rapture of a very different sort.
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2007.