Theater Review: Finian’s Rainbow

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The cast of Finian's Rainbow. Photo: Joan Marcus

This Revival is a Spectrum of Delight
By Lauren Yarger
With recipes for bland musical revivals like Pal Joey, Guys and Dolls and Bye Bye Birdie stirring the recent Broadway revival pot, the prospect of another insipid ingredient in the form of 1947’s Finian’s Rainbow at the St. James Theatre didn’t have me running to the stage asking for more, but had I passed on director Warren Carlyle’s masterful resurrection, I would have missed a colorful treat, indeed.

This revival, thanks to a deft touch that doesn’t take itself too seriously, is a real pleasure to watch despite a silly love story (and a rather silly plot overall, if truth be told), a lot of knee-slapping choreography (also directed by Carlyle) and Og, a singing leprechaun (Christopher Fitzgerald). It’s an Irish blessing to hear a full orchestra in fine form conducted by Rob Berman playing the score by Burton Lane with at least one song you’ve probably heard: “How Are Things n Glocca Morra?,” all beautifully sung, particularly by leads Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson (Scott Lehrer, sound design).

The book by Fred Saidy, who co-wrote the even less memorable lyrics with Yip Harburg, and adapted here by Arthur Perlman, is a stretch even for the most devoted lovers of musicals. Finian McLonergan (Jim Norton) steals Og’s pot of gold in Ireland and brings his daughter, Sharon (Baldwin), to Kentucky so he can bury it in the ground near Fort Knox and prosper in America.

There she meets and falls in love with Woody Mahoney (Jackson, pictured right), but before they can marry, lots of other things happen. Woody’s mute sister, Susan (Alina Faye), who can express herself only through ballet dance, steals the gold and falls in love with Og. Meanwhile, a corrupt white man is turned into a black man (played delightfully in both parts by David Schramm and Chuck Cooper), wishes are granted, the town’s tobacco industry is reborn and Sharon faces death at the stake as a witch.

OK, now if you have finished laughing, stay with me, because there are a lot of lines and situations about racism, immigration and the economy throughout that oddly seem more relevant today than they probably were in 1947. The “let’s-have-fun” approach keeps things from getting too deep, however, and prevents audible groaning at lyrics like:

“It's so terrifish, magnifish, delish.
To have such an amorish glamorish.
We could be oh, so bride and groomish
Skies could be so bluish blue.
Life could be so love in bloomish,
If my ishes could come true.”

In short, Carlyle allows the large, very fine ensemble cast to enjoy itself and the fun trickles out the end of the rainbow and showers on the audience. John Lee Beatty crates a colorful, but almost cartoon-like setting lighted by Ken Billington and this, along with Toni-Leslie James’ creative costumes (there’s one number where the dancers’ dresses appear to change before your eyes), allows the rainbow theme to shine without too much glare from the prism.

I particularly liked the colorful patchwork quilt framed by a rainbow lighting truss that marks the beginning and ends in the story. I wasn’t crazy about the glowing pot of gold that looked more like a large pumpkin, but I laughed out loud when Og trotted by carrying hats and canes for a singing and dancing quartet. So if you're willing to check reality at the door for a while, or maybe bury it there, to extend the metaphor, the show is highly entertaining.

Finian’s Rainbow offers its full spectrum of spirited fun at the St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th Street, NYC. For tickets that benefit Masterwork Productions, click here.

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• One of the more family-friendly shows out there. The little ones will enjoy the leprechaun’s shortening pants and other antics.