Tony Award-winner Jim Norton, Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson will star in Finian's Rainbow, the final production of New York City Center's 2008-09 Encores! season, running from March 26 - 29. Finian's Rainbow has music by Burton Lane, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy and will be directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle with music direction by Rob Berman. The musical will play five performances at City Center (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues).
Finian's Rainbow is the story of the Irishman Finian McLonergan (Jim Norton), and his daughter Sharon (Kate Baldwin) who travel to a small Southern town in the mythical state of Missitucky with plans to bury a stolen pot of gold in the shadows of Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief it will grow and multiply. They have been followed from Ireland by the owner of the gold, a leprechaun, who shows up determined to recover his treasure. The musical is unusual in that it deals in a satirical way with issues of class and race, most specifically in the character of a bigoted southern senator who is accidentally turned black. Harburg and Lane created one of Broadway's greatest popular scores, including "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love (I Love the Girl I'm Near)," "That Old Devil Moon," and "If This Isn't Love."
Finian's Rainbow opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 10, 1949 and played a total of 725 performances. Michael Kidd won the Tony Award for his choreography (In an interesting note, the show played at New York City Center twice before - in 1955 and 1960, presented by the New York City Light Opera.).
FINIAN'S RAINBOW PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 26 at 8:00 pm
Friday, March 27 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, March 28 at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, March 29 at 6:30 pm
Tickets for Finian's Rainbow are available at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org. Tickets for the Orchestra, Grand Tier and Mid-Mezzanine are $95; tickets for the Rear Mezzanine and Front Gallery are $50; tickets for the Rear Gallery are $25.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
