| FINIAN'S RAINBOW: NEW BROADWAY CAST RECORDING/CD |  | Creators: Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton, Christopher Fitzgerald
Label: PS CLASSICS
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $11.77
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Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 280
Format: Cast Recording
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 1088
UPC: 803607108823
EAN: 0803607108823
ASIN: B0030AIGKI
Release Date: February 2, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Album Description
The classic American musical Finian's Rainbow returned to Broadway on October 29, 2009, to rave reviews. The New York Times predicted 'permanent sunshine' for this 'thoroughly winning and joyous' production; Variety hailed it as an 'infectious charmer, with one of Broadway's consistently melodious scores;' while the critic for The Wall Street Journal stated simply, I don't think I've ever seen a more musically satisfying show.' Featuring some of the wittiest, most heartfelt and memorable songs ever written for the stage (including How Are Things in Glocca Morra?, Old Devil Moon, and Look to the Rainbow), Burton Lane and Yip Harburg's score - rendered here by a cast of 29 and a full orchestra -- remains one of Broadway's finest. The acclaimed cast includes Broadway stars Jim Norton, Cheyenne Jackson and Christopher Fitzgerald, plus newcomer Kate Baldwin in a star-making turn. With its sparkling score of beloved standards and a whimsical story that dances between romance, satire and fairy tale, Finian's Rainbow is a musical theater treasure, and this' New Broadway Cast Recording will 'carry you away on a cloud of melody, magic and make-you-swoon performances. (New York Daily News).
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 Disappointing March 8, 2010
Bennett I. Bardfeld (South Jersey)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not much improvement over the 1947 Original Cast. I expected more with more recording space and modern recording.
 Sunset for Finian's Rainbow March 4, 2010
J. Hanna (Houston TX)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I had not listened to "Finian's Rainbow" for many years. When I saw there was a recording of a new Broadway production of the show, I thought I would update my acquaintance with this musical. Sadly, the show is so dated and the story so cumbersome that, after listening only once, I put the album in a box of old CD's that I am taking to a resale shop.
The recording quality is good, of course, and the voices are OK as well. The show just sinks under the weight of an unbelievable plot and the very odd combination of sharecroppers and a leprechaun. I did not find a pot of gold at the end of Finian's Rainbow.
 Glorious Revival of a Classic March 3, 2010
Marc S. Komisarow (Dunwoody, GA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Finian's Rainbow was a hit in the 1940's which brought forth several classic songs: Old Devil Moon, How are things in Gloca Mora, to name two of the best known songs. Burton Lane produced one of his best scores and YIP Harburg produced some of his most memorable lyrics. The plot is at best preachy and moronic, so the lack of dialogue is welcome. The fall of 2009 brought a critically acclaimed revival which failed to find an aundience. Fortunately, the recording of the cast was made and is now available. KATE BALDWIN and CHEYENNE JACKSON are radiant..the supporting cast wonderful....A must have for the serious Broadway folower.
More than Grandish March 1, 2010
Mark Andrew Lawrence (Toronto)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Often, when you are in the theatre, you can sense when an audience is enjoying a show, but sometimes it goes beyond that. There is full-bodied applause, generous laughter, a buzz in the crowd at intermission. It is special performances like these that keep audiences coming back for more.
The Friday evening performance of FINIAN'S RAINBOW that I attended just a few weeks after it opened was like that. The reviews had been ecstatic, but business at the St. James Theatre box office had been sluggish. The orchestra section seemed fairly full, and the crowd was on board by the end of the sparkling Overture. As the first act unfolded the great Burton-Lane melodies washed over the crowd like a refreshing spring rain. E.Y.Harburg's lyrics delighted the crowd with their playfulness. Cheyenne Jackson's powerful baritone, Kate Baldwin's enticing mix of soft soprano and traditional Broadway belt, and Christopher Fitzgerald's elfin magic were joyously received. Then near the end of Act One Terri White stopped the show cold with her knock-out delivery of "Necessity."
The level of the performances, coupled with the reviews made me wonder why the show wasn't selling out. True, some of the younger theatre-goers raised on RENT and WICKED couldn't wrap their young minds around the fantasy elements of the story (excuse me, but isn't WICKED a fantasy???) and some complained about the old-fashioned nature of a 60+ year old show. But these are mostly students who buy rush and lottery seats, not the mainline theatre-goers who pay full price at the box office. Don't worry, I thought, the holidays are coming and business will pick up. Sadly, it never did. The producers reluctantly posted a closing notice for mid-January, and within an hour the St. James theatre had booked the incoming rock musical AMERICAN IDIOT. (That will keep the RENT-heads happier.)
The same thing happened with the revival of RAGTIME that opened 2 weeks after FINIAN'S RAINBOW to sensational reviews - and no ticket sales. Meanwhile, a block away a lackluster revival of BYE BYE BIRDIE opened to terrible notices and yet was virtually sold out. Broadway is in trouble, when great production are not selling tickets and mediocre (or worse) shows are selling out. Well, enough of the rant. What's done is done. All that is left is the CD. And happily, it's every bit as delightful as the show.
This is the most complete FINIAN'S RAINBOW available. Even a bit more complete that the performance: In the theatre the Overture observed the cuts made for the original 1947 cast album, dropping "Old Devil Moon." On this CD the Overture is note-complete. It also includes all reprises and the charming "Dance of the Golden Crock" - a harmonica solo. (The original Broadway production featured Sonny Terry.) The performances are full of life and the musical sequences capture the sparkle of the performance I attended (about 2 weeks before this CD was recorded.) Best of all, producer Tommy Krasker has chosen to include some welcome bits of dialogue giving context to the musical numbers. (The score is in essence just 11 songs...not a dud among them. Many of these songs became popular hits and/or standards.)
The booklet includes a detailed synopsis (something none of the previous releases ever included), a number of small color pictures of the production, and a complete set of lyrics. It's a classy package for what was a classy revival.
THIS is the one to own! February 28, 2010
TravelMod (New York, NY USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
While the CD version of the original 1947 cast album has its rewards, this newer recording is far superior.
For one thing, it includes much more of the music and song reprises. The voices are exceptional, and the charm of the Broadway production comes through loud and clear on this new recording. Additionally, and of course, the songs are offered in the correct order of how they appear in the show; in the old recording, the order is jumbled.
If you want to own one version of Finian's Rainbow, this is the one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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