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

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 5:40pm

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

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

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:02pm

Follies was just on Broadway in a lacklustre revival. Have we learned nothing from Les Miserables and Gypsy? Give it at least a decade.

Though I can't imagine this show doing that well, I'm thrilled that it's being given a chance after being absent from Broadway for over 45 years (and that was only for a week) instead of bringing back something that just closed 3 or 4 years ago.

I must admit, I prefer Li'l Abner to Finian's Rainbow, but I would still jump at the chance to see either (not that I'll actually get the chance). Now if we could only get a smashing production of Paint Your Wagon or Brigadoon. And as much as I would like to see it, I think we can pretty much write off a revival of Kismet in the next 20 or so years at the least.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:03pm

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.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:05pm

Fela isn't transferring. Waaaaaaaaaaay too late.

Expect the Brooks Atkinson to be open by the end of the year. Minsky's should have no problem finding a house. I'd love to see it go to the Shubert.

[dg22894]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:12pm

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.

[Gene Kelly Jr.]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:35pm

YES!!! It was a fantastic night but I'm a little nervous that they will replace some of the cast. I just wish On the Town could have had the same luck.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:40pm

More dated crap on Broadway!

[willrogers2008]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 6:43pm

With this (wonferful) notice I'm afraid MINSKY'S (also a wonderful show) is dead. Members of the MINKY'S cast,after its closing in LA, always mentioned the St. James for a Broadway run.I'm sorry.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 7:10pm

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.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 7:14pm

I'm kind of surprised to hear this. The show that really wanted to transfer was Encores production of "No, No Nanette".

[Hiram]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 7:22pm

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

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 7:28pm

Here's hoping Terri White continues to be part of the company for the Broadway run.

I found her rendition of "Necessity" to be the highlight of the evening.

Updated On: 4/2/09 at 07:28 PM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 8:03pm

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

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 8:15pm

Terri White can do no wrong.
I miss her at Roses Turn and play her Cd often.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 8:23pm

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.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:32am

I loved the Encores production.

The show is about a lot more than racism, and the jokes about foreclosures, credit crisis and Wall Street really hit home to the audience.

Plus, the score is so well known??that could be the selling point.

It was a thrill to hear it again. And the cast was perfection.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:39am

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.

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

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:53am

I knew I should have seen it at City Center! Oh well. I hope Jackson can transfer with it! His voice needs not leave Broadway!

And I don't think "Minskys" is dead.

[A Director]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 2:06am

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.

[boombaboy]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 8:49am

Great score, relevant plot points and seeing Cheyenne Jackson back on Broadway where he belongs is reason enough to move "Finian's Rainbow," not to mention the lovely Kate Baldwin, the fabulous Terri White and wonderful Jim Norton in the title role. I think the public will eat it up, it's the perfect show for these imperfect times.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 9:16am

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

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 9:18am

I love reading the "this show will never succeed" posts and then looking at who wrote them. Like the person (who I imagine has a birthdate of 2-28-94) who doesn't think the show is "mainstream" enough.

Some people just need to be taught.

[once a month]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:50am

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.

[Brick]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 10:55am

I'm ambivalent about it.

Wonderful production, seemed like a good option to transfer. But then so did so many others in recent memory... And is there an audience?

Personally, I was more excited by the inferior NO, NO, NANNETTE and the superior FOLLIES.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 11:40am

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.