Finian's Rainbow (The SOB Review) - St. James Theatre, New York, New York**1/2 (out of ****)You have to hand it to
Warren Carlyle for taking that inspirational tune "Look to the Rainbow" to heart. He's practically pulled out every conceivable stop for his enjoyable and entertaining Broadway revival of the
Burton Lane-
E.Y. Harburg musical
Finian's Rainbow in the hunt for his very own pot of gold.
To say Carlyle comes up with a silver instead is not to denigrate his Herculean efforts that includes his mesmerizing choreography. It's just that silver is a tad bit tarnished with verdigris.
The good news is that on Broadway, his
Finian's Rainbow is much more vibrant than
the concert version he mounted earlier this year as part of
New York City Center's Encores! series.
It doesn't hurt that
Finian's Rainbow consistently hits the jackpot with one of musical theatre's most divine scores. Apart from "Look to the Rainbow," it's nearly impossible to shake from your mind Lane and Yarburg's highly hummable "Necessity," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and the spellbinding "Old Devil Moon." It's easy to imagine that
Robert Russell Bennett and
Don Walker's full and lush original orchestrations (in the pit, no less) have never sounded better. Each gem is delivered with a flawless verve by the show's top-drawer cast.
In fact, if the luminescent
Kate Baldwin could shine any brighter, her Sharon McLonergan would never be able to see that devil moon. Radiating warmth and grace, Baldwin possesses an exquisite voice perfectly suited to the magical score.
As her love interest Woody Mahoney,
Cheyenne Jackson beguiles through silky-smooth vocals of his own. With guitar slung over his shoulders throughout, Jackson refreshingly imbues his Woody with a requisite innocence.
In the role of the transformed Bill Rawkins, a bigoted white southern senator who's become black by virtue of Sharon's ill-timed wish,
Chuck Cooper soulfully finds the depths of the Deep South via his ironic tune "The Begat."
The impish
Christopher Fitzgerald improves on the role of the leprechaun Og, which he's taken over since City Center and in the process manages to charm his ever-shrinking pants off the audience. With his commanding presence, particularly his hilarious rendition of "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," it's a wonder Fitzgerald still hasn't lucked out with a leading Rialto role of his own.
Then there's the awe-inspiring
Terri White. Blessed with a booming, yet beautiful voice, White makes a most triumphant return to the stage out of pure necessity, literally and figuratively. While her backstory is enough to have you cheering, it's White's ability to effortlessly hit this one so far out of the park that she comes close to stopping the show. Irish eyes are smiling on her as she follows an amazing personal arc of a genuine rainbow and realizes her own dreams in the process.
Special praise certainly must be reserved for the wondrous
Jim Norton. This Tony-winning actor not only grounds the entire proceedings, but he does so with magnetic charm and easy humor. With rascally eyes twinkling throughout, you'd be forgiven for thinking him a leprechaun himself. You can't help but wish him good fortune for his contributions.
The same goes for Warren Carlyle, too. As I noted above, he's pulled out nearly every stop in making this
Finian's Rainbow as good as a revival as this dated show can possibly get. Well, almost.
John Lee Beatty's two-dimensional scenic design may be verdant as kelly-colored grass, but it's as if Carlyle spent all of his green on everything but the cheap-looking set.
Sad to say, there's also the book. The problematic, silly book. As magnificent as the score, cast and choreography make this
Finian's Rainbow soar, the libretto originally written by Harburg and
Fred Saidy that's been adapted by
Arthur Perlman (the original adaptation for New York City Center Encores! was written by
David Ives) remains as creaky as ever. By cramming in far too many disparate themes -- including a noble one on race that was once way ahead of its time -- the book remains quaint at best. It's so clunky that it threatens to fall under its own weight.
Thus it's a tribute to Carlyle and company that the overall production manages to stand, even if tilting a bit precariously. In their quest for gold, Carlyle and his cast's yeomen efforts have still managed to find something truly precious at the end
Finian's Rainbow.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Cheyenne Jackson, Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow, Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin, Musical, Revival, Terri White, The SOB Review, Transfer, Warren Carlyle
Finian's Rainbow Revival: Finding The Sweet PotWhen the
Burton Lane-
E.Y. Harburg musical
Finian's Rainbow first arched over the Great White Way in 1947, it was ahead of its time in challenging the deeply-held racial prejudices, not only the Deep South, but throughout American society.
Considering the times, this was one audacious effort.
It was the same year
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming a
Brooklyn Dodger. It was just a year before
Senator Strom Thurmond waged a racially-fueled, independent run for the
White House as part of the
States-Rights Democratic Party, winning four states. It was seven years before the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled against segregation in the landmark
Brown vs. Board of Education. It was 18 years before the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured no one would be disenfranchised on the basis of their skin color. And it was 21 years before the dreams of
Martin Luther King, Jr. would be indefinitely on hold when
an assassin's bullet felled him.
With
Finian's Rainbow lampooning racist elected officials, along with its highly memorable score -- including such beloved tunes as "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "Old Devil Moon" -- the musical became a solid hit after opening at
46th Street Theatre (currently
Richard Rodgers Theatre), running for an amazing 725 performances.
Directed by
Bretaigne Windust, the tuner scored Tony Awards for the late, great choreographer
Michael Kidd, for
David Wayne's portrayal of the leprechaun named Og, and also for the show's conductor and musical director
Milton Rosenstock. The production also starred
Albert Sharpe as Finian McLonergan,
Ella Logan as his daughter Sharon, and
Donald Richards as Woody Mahoney.
Now, some 62 years later with, thankfully, a vastly different landscape in which the racial divide has been forever bridged,
Finian's Rainbow is back on Broadway at the
St. James Theatre where it began previews just yesterday. This time, the cast is headed by the brilliant
Jim Norton (Tony-winner for
The Seafarer, 2007-08) in the title role, the gorgeous
Kate Baldwin as Sharon, and the studly
Cheyenne Jackson as Woody. All are reprising the roles they created earlier this year at
New York City Center Encores!
They'll be joined by
Christopher Fitzgerald as Og,
Chuck Cooper,
William Youmans,
Alina Faye,
Brian Reddy,
Guy Davis,
Terri White and
David Schramm, among others, under
Warren Carlyle's direction and choreography. It's been reported that this will be a much more realized production than the concert version audiences saw last March.
Aside from the initial 1947-48 production, New York
City Center quite curiously has figured prominently in each of the subsequent three revivals for
Finian's Rainbow right up through the current one.
The
first revival was a brief 15-show stint in 1955 at City Center in which
Will Mahoney was Tony-nominated for his portrayal of Finian. Tony-winning actress
Helen Gallagher played Sharon alongside a young
Merv Griffin as Woody in his only Broadway credit.
The
next Finian's Rainbow revival enjoyed a one-week engagement at the 46th Street Theatre during the late spring of 1960 after being transferred from City Center. Directed and choreographed by
Herbert Ross, the production starred
Bobby Howes (Finian),
Jeannie Carson (Sharon),
Biff McGuire (Woody) and
Howard Morris (Og). For trivia nuts, you'll delight in knowing that
Anita Alvarez starred in each of the first three productions, portraying Susan in all of them.
After catching the City Center concert version last March,
I noted how I enjoyed the terrific individual performances but lamented that Harburg and
Fred Saidy' s "ridiculously creaky book reads more like a relic." Fortunately, one of Steve On Broadway's
trusted eyes and ears at the initial preview told me, "It's a wonderful production."
Instead of just another sentimental journey, can the
Finian's Rainbow revival find anything akin to that audaciously sweet pot of gold it originally found 62 years ago? Find out when I post my SOB Review shortly after the revival's October 29 opening.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Cheyenne Jackson, Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow, Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin, Musical, Revival, The SOB Preview, Warren Carlyle
Finian's Rainbow (The SOB Review) - City Center Main Stage, New York, New York** (out of ****)Now that
it's been announced that the
City Center Encores! musical reading of
Finian's Rainbow will get all gussied up for a regular Broadway staging later this year, I feel compelled to write a few thoughts about this dated clunker.
I submit that what may have worked among the adoring, hard-core New York theatre audiences that regularly assembles for Encores! presentations simply won't sell on the Great White Way.
Yes, there were winning performances from
Cheyenne Jackson,
Kate Baldwin,
Jim Norton and
Terri White (who truly proved a "Necessity"). Also,
Finian's Rainbow boasts some timeless tunes from the canon of
E.Y. Harburg and
Burton Lane -- I still can't get "Old Devil Moon" or "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" out of my mind.
But despite director/choreographer
Warren Carlyle's best attempts to breathe new life into this
62 year old tuner -- which in 1947 had boldly challenged racial discrimination well ahead of its time -- Harburg and
Fred Saidy' s ridiculously creaky book reads more like a relic.
And dare I say it? I was bored silly.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Burton Lane, Cheyenne Jackson, E.Y.Harburg, Finian's Rainbow, First Word On New Show, Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin, Musical, New York City Center, Terri White, The SOB Review, Warren Carlyle
