FINIAN'S RAINBOW to move to Broadway's St. James in the fall — Page 2

Whatever ever happened with the planned "Fela!" transfer?

Kind of OT, but still in the vein of this thread.

About where certain shows were being place, I though I remembered hearing that Encores would have something on Broadway at the St. James, and that Minskys was going somewhere else. Not sure where, since Addams Family is rumored for the Shubert, Love Never Dies had the Simon, and Spirderman has the Hilton. Maybe the Eugene O'Neil, or perhaps FELA will transfer for next season. Only other option I can think of is if Rock of Ages or Shrek closes, leaving atleast one empty theatre.

I do not think it will do well. Sorry for the fans but i do not think it is main stream enough and in this economy.

More dated crap on Broadway!

I hope they actually make it a Full Broadway show and not an orchestra on stage no set version, like CHICAGO and GYPSY.
The article says they want the cast and creative from City Center if available.
MINSKYS less than exciting reviews may have killed it,
I hope not.

I'm thrilled this glorious production is moving. I wish all involved the best.

They should give Kate Baldwin her Tony nomination certificate this year and get it over with. She was and will be stunning.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the Encores! version. Does is stick closely to the original book or is is more akin to the version done Off-Broadway several seasons back? I believe the book has always been the bugaboo about its being revived in the past -- not because it was inept, but because it was not polically correct and increasingly offensive to audiences from the 60's on.

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Kiss Me, Kate was a hit, and that show was basically forgotten and then made new again.

Please tell me you are not serious. Although the show had not had an open ended commercial revival on Broadway until the 1999 production, there had been several limited runs at City Centre through the 50's and 60s and the show has always been a popular attraction in summer stock, regional and community theatres.

To say it was "forgotten" reveals a level to sheer ignorance that just floors me.

The show was second only to SOUTH PACIFIC as the biggest hit of the 1948/49 Broadway season and was the first musical to win a Tony Award. At 1,077 performances it was the 4th longest running musical of the 1940s. It yielded a well received screen version (M-g-M, 1953) and three TV versions (1958, 1967 and 2002) The original cast album was the very first recorded as an Lp and remains in print to this day = 60 years after its release. The cast re-recorded the whole program in stereo 10 years later. There is also the film soundtrack, a TV cast album, and revival casts from London and Broadway. There have been many studio cast discs as well as two note-complete 2-CD sets (EMI and TER.)

The show has also proven incredibly popular in Europe and for many years a staple at the Vienna Volksoper.

It was not forgotten at all. Any more that SOUTH PACIFIC was when it had it?s first ever open ended commercial revival last season.

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Updated On: 4/3/09 at 01:39 AM

FINIAN"S RAINBOW will have greater appeal to the theatre going public than [title of show] and The Story of My Life. The score is better than both of those shows combined.

I love this score, and I wish them the best of luck with this revival!

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I was thrilled at the Encores production on Saturday night. It was a great "counter point" to seeing Hair the night before. I'm glad it's transferring, the dancing and music were joyous to say the least, and I was pleasantly surprised. I adored Hair-and Finian's Rainbow was not by any means a let-down. I'm just glad that others will get to experience this timely show.

I didn't see the Encores! Follies, which I understand was fantastic. However, I did see the original, the Paper Mill and the Roundabout. It's a very tricky show to pull off and, IMO, one of the few shows that cries for a lavish production, which was far beyond the Roundabout's means and budget. The original didn't make money, but was a superb job -- and it had the benefit of having some real old-timers (Ethel Shutta, Fifi D'Orsay) playing their current selves. It is my understanding that the Paper Mill was hoping to move to Broadway, but that Sondheim put the cabash on that idea, preferring instead to support the Roundabout, which, quite simply, just wasn't good.

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