The limited-engagement
New York City Center revival of
Finian's Rainbow that opened on April 27, 1960, and transferred to
the 46th Street Theatre for a Broadway run was one of many indications at the start of the new decade that America was beginning to emerge from the chilled artistic climate of the
McCarthy era of the 1950s. It would have been hard to imagine the show, written by blacklisted lyricist-librettist
E.Y. Harburg and composer
Burton Lane, being revived any earlier than 1960, despite the success of the original 1947 production. (Indeed, a proposed animated film version was scuttled in the mid-'50s, though not before prerecordings were made.) In addition to the red-baiting of one of its authors, the reason for the show's suppression can be found in
Harburg's story, which touches on issues of race relations and the gap between rich and poor, and in his lyrics, which slyly insert left-leaning sentiments and criticisms of the right wing. For all that, you might suppose that
Finian's Rainbow is some kind of dull political tract, when it is really a delightful
musical fantasy full of catchy songs. That's what people recalled when the revival opened in 1960, and that's what you get on this cast album.
Jeannie Carson can't match the Irish sparkle of her predecessor,
Ella Logan, in the female lead role, but she has a stronger voice;
Biff McGuire is a solid
Woody Mahoney; and
Howard Morris makes a suitably excitable
Og the leprechaun. The whole production has a triumphant spirit well conveyed on the recording, and it shakes the cobwebs from one of the outstanding
musicals of the 1940s. It's hard to beat the
Finian's Rainbow original Broadway cast recording, but this one makes a satisfying alternative, and it is certainly a sonic improvement. [The 1988 CD reissue added a short reprise of
"How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" at the end.] ~ William Ruhlmann