Marquee up, tickets on sale, some FINIAN'S RAINBOW cast announced

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 2:18pm

Christopher Fitzgerald and Chuck Cooper will join Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin in FINIAN'S RAINBOW. Fitz plays Og, Coop plays Billboard.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/christopher-fitzgerald-chuck-cooper-join-finians-rainbow-on-broadway/
Updated On: 7/16/09 at 02:18 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 2:39pm

Fitzgerald is terrific (if a bit obvious) casting.

Baldwin and Norton were terrific in the Encores! production.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 2:46pm

I can't remember and I'm sure it's been said but when does Minksy's hope to open? Could Fitzgerald's casting mean he's no longer attached or the show's no longer hoping to open on Broadway? Or, perhaps, will be start in this show and then just move over to Minksy's?

[Tom1071]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 2:52pm

I'm so glad that Christopher Fitzgerald has replaced Jeremy Bobb. While Jeremy Bobb did an okay job with the role of Og, I always thought he was miscast.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 3:26pm

I'm so glad to hear that this is still happening! Fitzgerald is a great choice too!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 3:57pm

JLY is crying in his beers.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 3:58pm

Is Chuck Cooper playing the role Cheyenne played at Encores?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 4:06pm

No, Cheyenne played Woody at Encores! and the role has yet to be cast.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 4:07pm

Cooper is playing Billboard. Cheyenne had played Woody.

ETA: Ray beat me to the punch

Updated On: 7/16/09 at 04:07 PM

[Testing1232]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 4:09pm

Love Cooper !!!! And lovin' the $25 Weds @ 7PM tix !!!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 4:30pm

I really love those Wednesday evening prices. I wonder if they're going to, like, have family things or talkbacks on Wednesdays. they should!

[devonian.t]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 4:37pm

This sounds a fantastic line-up!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 5:06pm

Any rumors as to who is replacing Cheyenne?

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 5:46pm

Has Jackson completely bowed out of this production?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 6:33pm

Yes, he's no longer involved.

[candydog2]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 6:47pm

How tall is Fitzgerald actually? He's been cast as munchkins and short hunchbacked assistants before now too.

[JimCo]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 7:39pm

What happened to Cheyenne Jackson?

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 7:43pm

He wanted to do something else in his career and not go be in a show that will fail and pull a Glory Days

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 8:00pm

Well, that's a shame about Jackson. Really liked his take on OL' DEVIL MOON in the ENCORES production, and wanted his and Baldwin's singing the great score preserved in a new cast recording.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 9:23pm

I'm so pleased for Christopher, because he's such a fabulous talented man and I am so glad he's doing so much recently. I'm sad Cheyenne is not going to be involved, but I'm excited. :)

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 9:41pm

YAY! Baldwin & Norton were superb at Encores!
And I agree with Tom 1071, Fitzgerald is a definite upgrade.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 9:56pm

As far as great scores but unworkable shows go, FR makes CHESS look brilliant.

Is the revision really drastic enough to make this creaky, racist, dated show come alive for 2009 as more than an excuse to hear the famous songs? (I think it speaks volumes for the material's tricky nature that Francis Ford Coppola, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire combined couldn't make it work AT ALL onscreen despite deep affection for the songs and source material.)

P
Updated On: 7/16/09 at 09:56 PM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 10:00pm

Gene Kelly wasn't in the film. Fred Astaire was.

I don't find the show creaky or dated at all. Honestly, I find the show pretty timely. As long as there's racism in the world, the show is not dated. But that's just my opinion.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 7/16/09 at 10:07pm

Gene Kelly did uncredited additional choreography for this AND Coppola's other musical, ONE FROM THE HEART.

Astaire, of course, was onscreen and did his own choreography for the most part.

Make that: Coppola, Kelly AND Astaire couldn't make the material work on screen. Better?

P
Updated On: 7/16/09 at 10:07 PM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 7/17/09 at 3:07am

Hmmmm?. A week ago the following posts were made:

?word around the Theatre district is that Finian's isn't going to happen.?
? Lamplighter

?I was told the same thing from a very reliable source?
? MarkK

?The show's still on. Any rumors of a cancellation are false.?
? Somethingwicked

?Seriously, I'm hearing from various sources that the prospects for this show are getting dimmer by the minute.? - Dollypop

?I saw James Snyder at the Marquis stage door, and he was talking to one of the doormen, whom (who? I've never gotten it right) I am friends with. James was saying that he came in for the day to try to get this show that was supposed to open at the St. James, but it's not going to anymore.? - iflip4musicals

So much for our resident experts :)

Look, Broadway is a volatile industry. Status can change over a lunch hour. I just posted this so that everyone starts reading these types of threads with a little more skepticism. The time to believe anything is when the producers announce it.