Tammy Faye Bakker (pronounced Baker) is back to looking for her Jim.
Elton John’s musical about the televangelist couple has lost star Andrew Rannells just three months before the show is supposed to open on Broadway.
Andrew Rannells, of “Book of Mormon” and “Gutenberg” fame, says he’s out, and the reason is money.
Rannells told this to, of all places, the CBS Mornings crew on the red carpet last night before the Tony Awards.
The Tony winner called the reason “contract” problems, which means the producers weren’t meeting his asking price.
Rannells starred in the original production at London’s Almeida Theater where he got terrific reviews.
This news leaves “Tammy Faye” looking for a name star to replace Rannells if this negotiating tact doesn’t work. The actress playing the lead role, Katie Brayben, is British and totally unknown here. The show will need a name star to play Jim Bakker — not to mention a few other names — even with Elton John as a drawing card.
How nice for CBS to get the scoop — since the Tony’s were on CBS, and so many other journalists were blocked from the red carpet.
