Kathie Lee Gifford talks ‘Scandalous’ flop, citing Hurricane Sandy

Kathie Lee Gifford made a lot of money in the ‘80s as the spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines, singing the lyrics “In the morning, in the evening, ain’t we got fun?” on TV commercials.

But Gifford’s well-honed promotional skills proved ineffective for her new Broadway musical “Scandalous.” The show, which received mostly negative reviews, is set to close Sunday at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York after less than a month of performances.

Gifford is a co-host of NBC’s “Today” show. Clearly not someone to be bothered by the separation of journalism and personal interest, Gifford has used the TV show as a platform to talk about “Scandalous,” her first Broadway effort. On Wednesday, she indirectly cited Hurricane Sandy has one of the factors in the musical’s failure to stay in business.

“I’m prejudiced of course. I’m the mother of this show,” Gifford told her co-host, Hoda Kotb on Wednesday’s broadcast. “Hurricane Sandy was just devastating to everyone in the tri-state area. But Broadway was badly hit... nobody has really recovered. The new shows haven’t.”

Gifford said, “It’s taken awhile to find our audience because no one knows what our show was.”

“Scandalous” is a biographical musical about the Los Angeles evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who founded the Foursquare Church. The show features a book and lyrics by Gifford, with music by David Pomeranz and David Friedman.

The Foursquare Foundation, a grant-making organization with close ties to the church, was one of the backers of the musical.

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