FOLLOW UP ON PREDICTION
NYTIMES FRIDAY APRIL 3, 2009
FINIAN'S RAINBOW going to Broadway
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g6JLMb53o4y2Q_3vHM4WuArTesAQD97AHL6O0
If there's a producer left who can still "spare a dime" - I predict that the revival of Burton Lane and Yip Harburg's Finian's Rainbow, which began its March 26-29 NYC City Center Encores production tonight will be headed back to Broadway where it originally opened in 1947. A big reason it will work is a roster of classic show tunes which each have only one major flaw - they end.
Even if the cast wasn't so gorgeous and talented it might still be hard to go wrong with songs like
"How are things in Glocca Morra?" "Old Devil Moon?" " If this isnt Love" and "When Im Not near the Girl I love."Its always fun when a hit from another era gets laughs by hitting nerves from the evening news - in this case it's about gold, tax liens, Shears and Roebush pushing easy credit based on rumor inflated property value and a vanishing pot of gold. By the way - that pot of gold was stolen from "the little people" by an old charming guy who initially intended just to borrow it for awhile.
Throw into the stew a magical race change, and a song like "When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich" and you've got a show that avoids the revival killing third rail by not feeling dated.
The leads Cheyenne Jackson and Kate Baldwin have show stopping voices and great chemistry with each other. Jeremy Bobb, the perfectly cast leprechaun is fun to watch as he throws it all away for Aina Faye - a statuesque blonde who mesmerizes with a classical ballet solo in a spotlight accompanied by the thumping wailing blues harmonica of Guy Davis (Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee's son)
Philip Bosco brings an eminence grise quality to his central role as the metamorphosing racist southern pol. He doesnt have a lot of stage time but he does get lines like - " No I haven't read the constitution I'm too busy defending it".
Amid all this talent it says a lot that when Terri White belts out her full throated gospel - chandelier shaking - rendition of "Necessity" - it stands out. Jim Norton as the old guy who dragged his daughter and his pot of gold to America does everything with a fun to watch twinkle.
The signature of Encores is its crisp spirited staging and choreography that fits seamlessly into the limited strip of City Center's stage that the performers share with a full orchestra. In this production it makes for a never boring showcasing mush of talent and adds an excitement that I hope doesn't get lost on Broadway.
You heard it here.
