Background
Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson is a musical with a book and lyrics by Kathie Lee Gifford and music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman. The musical has had productions in 2005 at the White Plains, New York Performing Arts Center, at the Signature Theatre in 2007, in 2011 at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle and in 2012 on Broadway. The musical is based on the life of Aimee Semple McPherson. (Wikipedia)
The only issue we have with Kathy Lee Gifford's musical about Sister Aimee is outlined in red in the above image and in the transcript.
Transcript
Set in 1920s Los Angeles, holiness collides with Hollywood in the extraordinary tale of one woman's charismatic rise to fame. But as her popularity grows, so do her enemies, until her sermons, her celebrity and her past combine to put everything she believes in on trial. Two-time Tony Award® winner George Hearn led a remarkable cast of 20 in this original musical about one woman's incredible rise to glory...AND FALL FROM GRACE.
Sister Aimee did not fall from grace. God's grace continually extended to all, and Sister Aimee never turned her back on God, her calling, or her parishioners. She was extremely hard-working, focused, and determined to preach Jesus above all else—an aspect of Aimee's life that Kathy Gifford said she purposely left out, not wanting anybody to fear they were going to be preached at or that it would be like church.
I don't want anybody to worry they're coming to church. This is a story about a Pentecostal, amazing woman. ( "Watch Kathie Lee Gifford, Carolee Carmello & More Deliver the Dirt on New Musical Scandalous," 2:45)
Fruits As Loud As Words
“Aimee Made an Awful Lot of Bad Decisions”
The sin of Sweeping Generalizations. Sister Aimee did not have a daily script that a team put together for her. She wrote the scripts, designed the services, the costumes, choir, band, music, building, ALL OF IT. Did her daily and weekly plans ever fail? Not once!
Did she at times have incompetent people who gave her poor advice, claiming to be experts? Only a few times. A woman prone to "bad decisions" would not be capable of driving across the country, setting up her own preaching tent, and safely raising two children all the while and without a husband.
Phrases such as "ditsy blonde" or "damsel in distress" do not apply to Sister Aimee McPherson. She was a competent achiever who did everything by, through, and for the Lord Jesus Christ and constantly pointed people to that fact.
"She's Totally on Drugs - A Lot"
"She's totally on drugs a lot" is a point Kathy Gifford succeeded in getting the point across, as demonstrated by Patty and Emily's review of the musical ("Patty & Emily Review Scandalous," YT, Nov 15, 2012).
Not at all. What "drugs" are we supposed to believe Sister Aimee was addicted to? And for how long?
“A Naked Man”
Appropriate for Broadway—not for Aimee, Christians, or 8-year-olds, whom Kathy said it was a suitable age for her musical. When discussing the subject of the naked man, Kathy seemed to be pleased with herself for "writing it in."
Description
Kathie Lee Gifford joins us to discuss the new Broadway musical "Scandalous," for which she wrote the book and lyrics. Joining her are Carolee Carmello, George Hearn and Roz Ryan who star in the show, which is based on the life of the notorious 20th century evangelist, Aimee Semple McPherson. Taped: 10-19-12 (Theater Talk: "Scandalous," YT, Dec 18, 2012, https://youtu.be/4L9yy-novL4)
What’s so scandalous about Scandalous? We asked:
"NO KIDNAPPING"
Candy Buckley (Minnie Kennedy) "There's some kidnappings, there's alot of questionable things that history has not quite determined what happened. (@1:46)
"SHE LIKED HER MEN"
Roz Ryan (Emma Jo Schaeffer)"She liked her men. She had several of them, and I ain't mad at her for that." (@1:53) (https://www.broadway.com/videos/154281/watch-kathie-lee-gifford-carolee-carmello-more-deliver-the-dirt-on-new-musical-scandalous/)
Where's respect for the widow? "Married 3 times," as if she were to blame. And there's no truth to the lie that she faked her kidnapping to shack up with her radio technician in Carmel. Once a person buys into the one lie, the others sequentially follow—a real travesty.
“A Woman Who Behaves Never Writes History”
What overall message did Kathy Lee Gifford hope to send to the world about Aimee Semple McPherson? Better yet, "What would Aimee say, when her Lord was left out?"