Riedel's column today talks about Garth Drabinsky having wanted to take the show over - to the horror of some of the people involved.
The most important part:
"We conducted exploratory talks with an investor group about moving our show to the Neil Simon Theatre," producers David Richenthal and Alan Marks said.
"Those talks concluded with no deal being reached. 'Finian's' will play its last performance at the St. James this coming Sunday."
Asked about Drabinsky's involvement with that "investor group," the producers said: "We have no comment." New York Post on 'Rainbow' end
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
Sad news. I very much enjoyed this show when I saw it last weekend. I certainly hope some aspects are remembered come awards time (hello, Christopher Fitzgerald FTW!), but this potential move was mostly wishful thinking. Ah sir, times is hard. Times is hard!
Even in more stable financial times, I'm not sure that a Finian move would have been a great idea. (Nothing against the show itself). It got very good reviews but didn't much break out of the $500,000-600,000 b.o. range, which was earning too little of its capitalization back, if anything at all. To then add another $2 million or more for a move, competing for audiences against seven additional musicals/musical revivals that will be opening between March and May just seems irresponsible.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
This is terrible. The best reviewed show of the season just goes down the tubes.
With the exception of a couple of songs, I knew nothing about Finian's Rainbow until I saw it. I fell in love with the show and this production, especially the performances of Kate Baldwin and Christopher Fitzgerald. If only it could have made it to the Tony's. I guess that is the gamble of opening a show early in the season. What a loss for Broadway. Updated On: 1/13/10 at 10:32 AM
Finian's Rainbow has a score the equal of Gypsy in my opinion. (And has yielded almost as many standards as Babes in Arms.) What a shame it couldn't find the audience it deserved.
Thank goodness there was a cast recording made, though. It's not the same, but I know I'll love having this cast sing that score forever.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
I don't know if they're in the same league because I don't think they're the same *type* of score. Finian's Rainbow produced so many songs that became standards because they work on their own. The songs from Gypsy, for the most part, don't.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Yes, I was going to say that as well - because of that and the construction of the show (thus the way the scores fit in their respective shows), it's a little bit apples and oranges.
It's really too bad that Finian's has to go. I saw it last night and LOVED it. The house looked full from what I could see and the cast could not have been better. Christopher Fitzgerald cracked up the whole audience when he said "bless you" mid-senence, to an audience member that sneezed so loud it echoed!