The book and lyrics for Scandalous were written by Kathie Lee Gifford, who is controversial in her own right, not because she is guilty of any of the sins associated with Aimee, but because she is a Christian who tries to live a life pleasing to the One she follows.

The hottest ticket on Broadway continues to be The Book of Mormon, a musical that pokes fun at the Mormon faith in particular and Christianity in general. It is also full of profanity and blasphemy. If there was a show called The Book of Muhammad, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre probably would have been burned down by now. New Yorkers are selective when picking their targets.

Now there’s a new musical called Scandalous, about a colorful, some would say corrupt, evangelist named Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Foursquare Church. In the early part of the 20th century, Aimee was more famous than any TV evangelist today. She combined a considerable amount of show business with an equal amount of religiosity and packed them in at her Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, which remains in operation today, long after her death.

Scandalous has just begun previews. I saw it in development and thought it excellent. Carolee Carmello, the actress who plays Aimee, is superb. She is on stage most of the show and commands it better than any TV evangelist ever has. (See “Reviving Sister Aimee,” by Megan Basham, WORLD Magazine, Nov. 5, 2011, issue.)

In her prime, Aimee was the scourge of fundamentalists. They denounced her as a fraud, a tool of Satan, and worse. And there was ample evidence to support many of their claims. On May 18, 1926, Aimee disappeared for five weeks. She claimed to have been kidnapped and held for ransom. Witnesses placed McPherson in a seaside cottage in Carmel-by-the-Sea with her married radio engineer Kenneth Ormiston. The Los Angeles district attorney filed obstruction of justice charges, a trial followed, and McPherson’s fantastical story landed on the front pages of newspapers around the country.

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