Tuesday, November 3, 2009

FINIAN'S RAINBOW-on Broadway


Finian's Rainbow has finally been revived on Broadway, having last been performed there in 1947. Many off-Broadway revivals of the musical took place over the years, most recently the acclaimed performances at the Encores series at New York's City Center. That run, happily gave the producers the impetus to mount it on Broadway. The glorious score by Burton Lane and Yip Harburg is more fabulous than ever. Hit song after hit song is heard and this score ranks up there with the amount of standards in any other important musical. There is excellent vocal delivery in their individual numbers by both Kate Baldwin and Terri White. They are the standout singers. Everyone else is perfectly adequate and on occasion more than adequate. The book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy still holds up and was very pertinent for contemporary times. Warren Carlyle's choreography and direction were perfect in portraying the story. Leprechauns and pots o'gold are integrated with Irish whimsy and Southern social mores of the period. If you're not moved by "How Are Things in Glocca Morra", you're not alive. A must see for all musical theater lovers.

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