It was kind of a testy night at the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway on October 20, 2008.

That’s because the performance of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by ‘Elton John and Friends’ turned out to be more Friends, less Elton, and not totally what at least half the audience expected.

The ‘friends’ were largely Broadway performers who were off for the night rather than Elton or his rock band or rockers at all. For those who plunked down $500 to see Elton John perform his classic album, this took a little adjusting. Needless to say, the Broadway types in the audience were just thrilled to see “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” camped up and tricked out.

The main redeeming feature: that it was all for a good cause. The money went to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Equity Fights AIDS/Broadway Cares. But perhaps if Elton, and not actor Patrick Wilson, had opened the show with “Funeral for a friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” there wouldn’t have been hoots and hollers from the balcony of “I want my money back!” and “Where’s Elton?” Whoops!

Wilson, whose singing was not up to measure, was not the only mistake of the evening. Drag queen Joey Arias didn’t ingratiate himself with the rockers on “I’ve Seen that Movie Too.” Rufus Wainwright couldn’t sing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” with a straight face, and John Cameron Mitchell made “Bennie and the Jets” a farce. Mary McBride wore a floor length gown and stood dead still while belting “All the Girls Love Alice.” And Stew, from “Passing Strange,” flounced into “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” He tried an old Elton trick, but nearly slipped off the piano after he slid onto it.

Who saved the show: pianist Ben Folds should get a purple heart for rescuing “Grey Seal” and “This Song Has No Title.” The casts of “Hair” and “The Lion King” were exemplary, respectively, on “Jamaica Jerk Off” and “Your Sister Don’t Twist.” Jane Krakowski got “Sweet Painted Lady” so right it was scary, and Sherie Rene Scott sent up Sarah Palin on “Dirty Little Girl” with a chorus of Palins.

But it was Sir Elton who people came to see, some paying really bigger bucks. The great Billie Jean King introduced him, and when Elton took over the deficiencies of the other performances became glaring. He wrapped up the night with the last three tracks from his classic 1973 double album: “Roy Rogers,” “Social Disease,” and a gorgeous delivery, with a choir, of the magnificent song, “Harmony.” Sir Elton even introduced Bernie Taupin, his longtime lyricist, a nice touch.

Mistakes aside, the performance of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” may have a silver lining. The material has held up beautifully, and really begs to be put on Broadway as a concert/revue show. Just seeing how Jane Krakowski handled her number showed what the potential was for a “Movin’ Out” kind of presentation and Elton and Bernie’s music.

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