Cabaret Scenes Theatre Review

It's whimsical, it's magical, and it's brimming with terrific songs by E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane.

When Finian's Rainbow opened on Broadway in 1947, some called it left-wing. A fantasy reflecting post-war optimism, Finian's Rainbow addressed the American can-do spirit and social issues. Harburg ended up on Senator McCarthy's blacklist, but on Broadway and the hit parade, Finian's Rainbow was a huge hit with timeless favorites like "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and "Old Devil Moon."

The final show in Encores! 2008-2009 season, Finian's Rainbow is the once-upon-a-time tale of wily Irishman Finian McLonergan, played by Jim Norton (The Seafarer), who comes to America with his feisty daughter, Sharon (Kate Baldwin), and a mystical pot of gold "borrowed" from the leprechauns that offers three wishes. Finian believes fortune will come to him when he plants it near the U.S. gold in Fort Knox.

They settle in Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, and although Sharon still longs for Glocca Morra, when she spots local sharecropper, Woody Mahoney, (Cheyenne Jackson), she is smitten and settles down.

Unfortunately, a mischievous leprechaun, Og, (Jeremy Bobb), followed Finian and Sharon to America, aiming to reclaim the gold. Og takes a fancy to the lovely Sharon and is jealous when she falls for Woody. He reveals his puckish nature in a mock-Irish flavored "Something Sort of Grandish":

"You're under my skinish,
"So please be give-inish
"Or it's the beginish of the finish of me."

Warning, things get convoluted. Landmines thrown into the plot include local bigot, Senator Billboard Rawkins (Philip Bosco), his sidekicks Buzz and the Sheriff; shady banking practices, the perils of buying on credit, racism, the poll tax, the TVA, and the gold that suddenly disappears. And those three wishes, what about those?

Hint—all is resolved. Og feels himself becoming more and more mortal-ish, and tries to retain his magical powers, but finally human-ish, in the form of simple lust, overtakes the leprechaun. He realizes it's Woody's sister, Susan-the-Silent, not Susan, that he's choosin'. What a perfect chance for him to sing "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love (I Love the Girl I'm Near)" because, "I'm faithful to whos'n is here." Ballerina Alina Faye, as Susan, exquisitely used dance to communicate in "foot-talk instead of talk-talk." A moving segment showed her "conversing" to Guy Davis' harmonica "talk."

When Sharon and Woody wed, Finian, always a free spirit, takes off to follow his own rainbow.

In Encores!' engaging cast, the standouts were father and daughter: Norton embodied the rascally Finian with a twinkle in his eye and a jig in his toes. Baldwin as a pert and spirited Irish colleen, has a glorious interpretive singing voice. When she sang, "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," I missed Glocca Morra myself, and I've never been there. Portraying Woody, Cheyenne Jackson is an appealing matinee idol but as flawlessly as he sings, he did not deliver the depth of the song.

A bit taller than your usual leprechaun, Jeremy Bobb fancifully portrayed the mischievous Og. Off-kilter was Philip Bosco, who blustered convincingly as the bigot but appeared. unprepared. Terri White had a lusty moment, convincing a group of hard-working housewives that a most unnecessary thing, is, "Necessity."

"Yip" Harburg's clever lyrics are delightfully helpful to the sentiment of the story and the characters. Burton Lane's melodies feature certain intriguing points that make them contagious. "When the Idol Poor Become the Idle Rich" features catchy counterpoint melodies celebrating an upscale lifestyle, temporary because it comes from buying on credit. This idea puts everyone in the revival hoedown spirit for "That Great Come-and-Get-It Day." The unpretentious "Look to the Rainbow" is a lilting "elegant legacy waiting for ye..." Lane's vivid, rhythmic, "If This Isn't Love," gooses Woody and Sharon's sheer lusty youth with Harburg's fanciful rhyming like "Carmen Miranda"/"red propaganda." The voodoo intensity of "Old Devil Moon" inflames the couple in their highlight duet:

"Wanna cry, wanna croon,
"Wanna laugh like a loon."

In 1947, even with librettist E Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy's controversial satirical twist, its charm, Harburg's witty words and Burton Lane's melodic score made Finian's Rainbow a package too irresistible not to savor. If America's affection for fantasy did not last long, the book's fun and music did The show featured more standards than any Broadway musical before or after. It was also the first Broadway show to feature African-Americans and Caucasians dancing together. Over the years, some politically incorrect touches have been erased (blackface, for example), but several crowd-pleasing, sharply contemporary references remain. Warren Carlyle's direction was crisp and choreography energizing.

How thrilling was it to hear Burton Lane's melodies in the overture with music director Rob Berman's lush musical treatment of the Robert Russell Bennett/Don Walker orchestrations? Today, Finian's Rainbow is still "Something Sort of Grandish."

(Photo: Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin by Joan Marcus)

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
March 28, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Finian's Rainbow City Center New York, NY
It's whimsical, it's magical, and it's brimming with terrific songs by E.Y. Harburg and Burton Lane. When Finian's Rainbow opened on Broadway in 1947, some called it left-wing. A fantasy reflecting post-war optimism, Finian's Rainbow addressed the American can-do spirit and social issues. Harburg ended up on Senator McCarthy's blacklist, but on Broadway and the hit parade, Finian's Rainbow was a huge hit with timeless favorites like "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" and "Old Devil Moon." The final show in Encores! 2008-2009 season, Finian's Rainbow is the once-upon-a-time tale of wily Irishman Finian McLonergan, played by Jim Norton (The Seafarer), who comes to America with his feisty daughter, Sharon (Kate Baldwin), and a mystical pot of gold "borrowed" from the leprechauns that offers three wishes. Finian believes fortune will come to him when he plants it near the U.S. gold in Fort Knox. They settle in Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, and although Sharon still longs for Glocca Morra, when she spots local sharecropper, Woody Mahoney, (Cheyenne Jackson), she is smitten and settles down. Unfortunately, a mischievous leprechaun, Og, (Jeremy Bobb), followed Finian and Sharon to America, aiming to reclaim the gold. Og takes a fancy to the lovely Sharon and is jealous when she falls for Woody. He reveals his puckish nature in a mock-Irish flavored "Something Sort of Grandish": "You're under my skinish, "So please be give-inish "Or it's the beginish of the finish of me." Warning, things get convoluted. Landmines thrown into the plot include local bigot, Senator Billboard Rawkins (Philip Bosco), his sidekicks Buzz and the Sheriff; shady banking practices, the perils of buying on credit, racism, the poll tax, the TVA, and the gold that suddenly disappears. And those three wishes, what about those? Hint—all is resolved. Og feels himself becoming more and more mortal-ish, and tries to retain his magical powers, but finally human-ish, in the form of simple lust, overtakes the leprechaun. He realizes it's Woody's sister, Susan-the-Silent, not Susan, that he's choosin'. What a perfect chance for him to sing "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love (I Love the Girl I'm Near)" because, "I'm faithful to whos'n is here." Ballerina Alina Faye, as Susan, exquisitely used dance to communicate in "foot-talk instead of talk-talk." A moving segment showed her "conversing" to Guy Davis' harmonica "talk." When Sharon and Woody wed, Finian, always a free spirit, takes off to follow his own rainbow. In Encores!' engaging cast, the standouts were father and daughter: Norton embodied the rascally Finian with a twinkle in his eye and a jig in his toes. Baldwin as a pert and spirited Irish colleen, has a glorious interpretive singing voice. When she sang, "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," I missed Glocca Morra myself, and I've never been there. Portraying Woody, Cheyenne Jackson is an appealing matinee idol but as flawlessly as he sings, he did not deliver the depth of the song. A bit taller than your usual leprechaun, Jeremy Bobb fancifully portrayed the mischievous Og. Off-kilter was Philip Bosco, who blustered convincingly as the bigot but appeared. unprepared. Terri White had a lusty moment, convincing a group of hard-working housewives that a most unnecessary thing, is, "Necessity." "Yip" Harburg's clever lyrics are delightfully helpful to the sentiment of the story and the characters. Burton Lane's melodies feature certain intriguing points that make them contagious. "When the Idol Poor Become the Idle Rich" features catchy counterpoint melodies celebrating an upscale lifestyle, temporary because it comes from buying on credit. This idea puts everyone in the revival hoedown spirit for "That Great Come-and-Get-It Day." The unpretentious "Look to the Rainbow" is a lilting "elegant legacy waiting for ye..." Lane's vivid, rhythmic, "If This Isn't Love," gooses Woody and Sharon's sheer lusty youth with Harburg's fanciful rhyming like "Carmen Miranda"/"red propaganda." The voodoo intensity of "Old Devil Moon" inflames the couple in their highlight duet: "Wanna cry, wanna croon, "Wanna laugh like a loon." In 1947, even with librettist E Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy's controversial satirical twist, its charm, Harburg's witty words and Burton Lane's melodic score made Finian's Rainbow a package too irresistible not to savor. If America's affection for fantasy did not last long, the book's fun and music did The show featured more standards than any Broadway musical before or after. It was also the first Broadway show to feature African-Americans and Caucasians dancing together. Over the years, some politically incorrect touches have been erased (blackface, for example), but several crowd-pleasing, sharply contemporary references remain. Warren Carlyle's direction was crisp and choreography energizing. How thrilling was it to hear Burton Lane's melodies in the overture with music director Rob Berman's lush musical treatment of the Robert Russell Bennett/Don Walker orchestrations? Today, Finian's Rainbow is still "Something Sort of Grandish." (Photo: Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin by Joan Marcus) Elizabeth Ahlfors Cabaret Scenes March 28, 2009 www.cabaretscenes.org

Finian's Rainbow

City Center New York, NY

City Center
New York, NY