BWW Reviews: TAMMY FAYE'S FINAL AUDITION Delights at the Capital Fringe

Southeast Ohio-based Brick Monkey Theater Ensemble brings a little bit of 80s televangelism nostalgia to the Capital Fringe this year with Merri Biechler's Tammy Faye's Final Audition. Featuring solid direction by Dennis Lee Delaney and some of the most professional acting you're likely to see in this kind of festival setting, the play is a bit of a remembrance piece, with one half of America's first televangelist team getting ready for the next phase.

It's Tammy Faye's (a spot-on Shelley Delaney) final audition of sorts, appropriately called "Tammy Faye Wins at Life." Her past professional, familial, and personal doings (as well as those who she was closest to) are examined in a way that's pretty standard for her - on a talk show in a television studio (well represented by C. David Russell). Current husband Roe Messner, former cohost Jim J. Bullock, Jamie Charles (one of Tammy Faye's two children, now grown), and the infamous Jim Bakker all make an appearance the interviews she conducts the form of the wonderfully versatile David Haugen. It becomes clear as the story progresses that the green light Tammy is seeking is not from a television network - it's from the All-Mighty Himself to enter those pearly gates.

Biechler's play, although in need of some trimming here and there, is a swiftly moving and multilayered creative work with numerous strengths. One of the most powerful ones is the way that she incorporates humorous lines that you might expect in a play about one of the most infamous players in "Christian" media, but doesn't go so overboard that we're left with a series of one-liners and little substance. Although a bit reminiscent of other plays where a subject comes to terms with the past in a 'ghost-like' way, she manages to also peel back the layers of the Tammy Faye 'we' know from her media and television appearances and understand how moments in her life shaped who she was - and not necessarily those that were carried out in front of the world.

One of the most compelling segments is when she remembers, as a child, when she first heard the call of God to let Him use her life for His good. It's a lovely reminder that Tammy Faye started her journey from a well-meaning and earnest place. Here, those personally aware of how some Evangelical/Charismatic churches work might also get a kick out of her remark that her ability to speak in tongues afforded her parents re-entry into the congregation following divorce.

Another strong moment in this regard is a conversation with her son Jamie Charles. Jamie considers how his upbringing and her parents' misdeeds impacted the person he became and also ponders what was real about his childhood and what was not. This segment affords Tammy an opportunity to consider what she put first - becoming famous and being well-loved by a particular community or being a parent. Her real human struggle becomes evident here. She's not just a caricature.

Apart from a very polished and rangy script, probably made even better by some wonderful acting, the production features a variety of very professional technical elements that enhance its enjoyment. C. David Russell's costumes and Mitch Ely's wigs transform the actors into those people we know well. Most importantly, they highlight how fashion and image-conscious Tammy Faye Bakker hid under layers and layers of clothing and other accessories, which is important to both her rise to fame and - for this play - her need to go before God as she truly was. Dennis Lee Delaney's pre-show sound design, featuring praise and worship music, grounds the world Tammy Faye and her cohorts inhabit.

Do yourself a favor and check this one out.

Running Time: 75 minutes with no intermission.

Tammy Faye's Final Audition has two more performances in the Capital Fringe Festival. For tickets, dates, and venue information, click here.

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