ELTON John called yesterday to talk about his critically clobbered new musical, “Lestat,” which he finally caught up with last weekend in San Francisco.

So what did he think?

“After reading the reviews, I was fearing the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised,” he told me.

“We have a lot of work to do, I’m not going to deny that. There are problems in the first act, we’re going to have a new beginning and a new ending and some minor characters are going to bite the dust.

“We certainly ran into problems in San Francisco. But I think we can sort them out. It’s a f – – – ing painstaking process, but I’m confident we can do it.”

As I reported last week, the cast and crew of “Lestat” were bracing for John’s visit. They feared he would have harsh words for a show the critics called disjointed, cluttered and just plain boring.

Rumors were flying around backstage that, if John wasn’t pleased, “Lestat” would close out of town.

But that, the composer made clear, is not going to happen.

“Lestat” is coming to Broadway, although the first preview and opening night have been pushed back two weeks to give John and the rest of the creative team time to overhaul the show.

The $12 million musical, based on Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles,” will now play its first preview March 25 at the Palace, before opening April 25.

John is taking the brutal notices – including one that called his score “bland” – in stride and with a sense of humor.

“I can take it,” he says. “I’ve been called worse things than bland, believe me.

“I did read one review that said I’ve obviously been watching ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Jekyll and Hyde.’

“Well, thank you very much. I nearly killed myself. Where is the Golden Gate Bridge?”

John concedes the critics had a point when they complained that the show, especially the first act, is weighed down by too much plot.

Spanning centuries, “Lestat” tells the story of a lonely vampire searching for companionship and love.

“Right now, we’ve got too much information. The first act is a history lesson,” John says. “A lot of it isn’t necessary. We’ve done a lot of pruning, and I think I’m going to have to write another song or two.”

Director Rob Jess Roth‘s work on “Lestat” has been hammered publicly by the critics and privately by Broadway insiders who flew to San Francisco to see the show.

Roth was fired from another one of John’s shows, “Aida,” so there’s been speculation that he might be let go from “Lestat.”

But this time, John is standing by the director.

“Rob and I were friends [before ‘Aida’], and we continue to be friends,” he says. “He has a f – – – ing difficult job on this one, but I have confidence in him.”

John applauds Roth for tapping the services of a show doctor, choreographer Jonathan Butterell, who joined “Lestat” last week.

“Rob hit a wall, and he very bravely brought Jonathan in,” he says.

Because of his performing schedule and his recent wedding to his longtime lover David Furnish, John hasn’t been able to devote much time to “Lestat.”

Some people involved in the show say that has been a problem.

How, after all, can you fix a show when the composer isn’t around?

“It is frustrating that I can’t get there more often,” John admits. “I haven’t been as helpful as I could be.

“But when the show is in New York, I’ll be on the East Coast working in Atlanta [his home], so I’ll be popping in and out.

“Any excuse to come to New York!”

michael.riedel@nypost.com