Finian's Rainbow
is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A new Broadway revival is scheduled to begin on October 8, 2009. The Irish-tinged score also includes gospel and R&B influences.
Finian moves to the Deep South from Ireland with his daughter Sharon, to bury a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief that it will grow. A leprechaun follows them, desperate to recover his treasure before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complications arise when a bigoted and corrupt U.S. Senator gets involved, and when wishes are made inadvertently over the hidden crock. All ends happily.
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FINIAN'S RAINBOW TICKETS
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Synopsis
A combination of whimsy, romance, and
political satire, the plot revolves around Finian McLonergan, who has emigrated from
Ireland to the town of Rainbow Valley in the mythical state of Missitucky with his daughter Sharon, intent on burying a stolen pot of gold in the shadows of
Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief it will grow and multiply. Hot on their heels is Og, a
leprechaun intent on recovering his treasure, before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complicating matters are a corrupt senator who makes no effort to conceal his racial
bigotry and the wishes made by those unknowingly in the vicinity of the hidden crock, including Sharon, who gives the senator a taste of his own hateful medicine by accidentally turning him black (temporarily). In the ultimate happy ending, Sharon marries the handsome, cocky young Woody Mahoney; and Woody's mute sister, "Susan the Silent", acquires the power of speech and falls in love with Og, (who decides that being human is not so bad after all).
Early Productions
The original
Broadway production opened on January 10, 1947 at the
46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 725 performances. It was directed by
Bretaigne Windust,
choreographed by
Michael Kidd, with orchestrations by
Robert Russell Bennett and
Don Walker. The cast included
Ella Logan as Sharon,
Donald Richards as Woody,
Albert Sharpe as Finian, with the
Lyn Murray Singers.
David Wayne won both the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (the first one ever given) and the
Theatre World Award for his performance as Og. The show also received Tonys for Best Conductor and Musical Director (Milton Rosenstock) and Best Choreography.
Finian's Rainbow
has been revived three times on Broadway by the
New York City Center Light Opera Company. The 1955 production, directed by
William Hammerstein and choreographed by
Onna White, starred
Helen Gallagher,
Merv Griffin, and Will Mahoney, who was nominated for a Tony as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. In 1960,
Herbert Ross directed and choreographed a cast that included
Jeannie Carson,
Bobby Howes ,
Howard Morris,
Sorrell Booke, and
Robert Guillaume. A third revival was staged by the company in 1967. Although major revivals of the musical have been rare in recent decades, as the musical's treatment of bigotry against
blacks in the
American South has become dated, in 2004 the Irish Repertory Theatre staged a well-received
off-Broadway production starring
Melissa Errico and
Malcolm Gets.
[1]
A
1968 film version with
Fred Astaire,
Tommy Steele and
Petula Clark was directed by
Francis Ford Coppola.
2009 Revival
New York's City Center
Encores! series performed a concert version of the musical from March 26, 2009 through March 29. Directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, it starred
Tony Award-winner
Jim Norton and
Kate Baldwin as Finian and Sharon, with
Cheyenne Jackson as Woody and Jeremy Bobb as Og, the leprechaun.
[2] A fully-staged Broadway revival is scheduled to begin on October 8, 2009, with opening scheduled for October 29 at the
St. James Theatre with most of the Encores! cast.
[3] Newly added to the Broadway cast are
Christopher Fitzgerald as Og and
Chuck Cooper as Billboard; Cheyenne Jackson reprises his role as Woody.
[4] [5]
Song list
;Act I
- This Time of the Year
- How Are Things in Glocca Morra?
- Look to the Rainbow
- Old Devil Moon
- How Are Things in Glocca Morra?
- Something Sort of Grandish
- If This Isn't Love
- Something Sort of Grandish (Reprise)
- Necessity
- (That) Great Come-and-Get-It-Day
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;Act II
- When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich
- Old Devil Moon (Reprise)
- Fiddle Faddle
- The Begat
- Look to the Rainbow
- When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love
- If This Isn't Love (Reprise)
- That Great Come-and-Get-It-Day (Finale)
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Recording
An
original cast recording released as a six-disc 78 rpm set by
Columbia Records was the label's first recording of a Broadway musical. The label used the album to introduce its new
LP format in June 1948. In 1988, the album was released on CD, and in 2000, a second CD version appeared that was remastered from the original acetates and restored some material originally recorded but cut from the show, including three bonus tracks in which Harburg discusses the writing of and sings "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," as well as singing "Don't Pass Me By," a song cut from the show.
Notes
- Finian's Rainbow reviewcurtainup.com, April 11, 2004
- Gans, Andrew."Norton, Jackson and Baldwin Look to the Rainbow Beginning March 26 at City Center",playbill.com, March 26, 2009
- Hetrick, Adam."Producers Want to Move Encores! Finian's Rainbow to Broadway",playbill.com, April 2, 2009
- Itzkof, Dave. "Christopher Fitzgerald, Chuck Cooper Join 'Finian’s Rainbow' on Broadway,"''The New York Times'', July 16, 2009
- Gans, Andrew."Cheyenne Jackson to Star in Broadway's Finian's Rainbow,"playbill.com, July 22, 2009
References
- Finian's Rainbow reviewcurtainup.com, April 11, 2004
- Gans, Andrew."Norton, Jackson and Baldwin Look to the Rainbow Beginning March 26 at City Center",playbill.com, March 26, 2009
- Hetrick, Adam."Producers Want to Move Encores! Finian's Rainbow to Broadway",playbill.com, April 2, 2009
- Itzkof, Dave. "Christopher Fitzgerald, Chuck Cooper Join 'Finian’s Rainbow' on Broadway,"''The New York Times'', July 16, 2009
- Gans, Andrew."Cheyenne Jackson to Star in Broadway's Finian's Rainbow,"playbill.com, July 22, 2009