Theatre Register
Finian's Rainbow (1947 original Broadway cast)

Finian’s Rainbow

Shows · Finian’s Rainbow

E. Y. Harburg got the idea for Finian’s Rainbow because he wanted to satirize an economic system that requires gold reserves to be buried at Fort Knox. He then began thinking of leprechauns and their legendary crock of gold that could grant three wishes. In the story that Harburg and Fred Saidy devised, Finian McLonergan (Albert Sharpe), an Irish immigrant, is in Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, to bury a crock of gold wh…

Opened
1947
Performances
725
Type
Musical
Era
Golden Age
Music: Burton LaneLyrics: E. Y. HarburgBook: E. Y. Harburg & Fred Saidy

Licensing 4 entries

US Concord Theatricals Tams-Witmark available
US Concord Theatricals Tams-Witmark available
UK Concord Theatricals Tams-Witmark available
UK Concord Theatricals Tams-Witmark available

Read from the licensor's own pages and catalogues. Rights move, and an empty row means we have not confirmed a publisher, not that the show cannot be licensed.

In the literature46 passages

Windust, Bretaigne Finian’s Rainbow book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-seventh-edition-stanley-green-cary-ginell#p387

E. Y. Harburg got the idea for Finian’s Rainbow because he wanted to satirize an economic system that requires gold reserves to be buried at Fort Knox. book:broadway-musicals-show-by-show-green-stanley-green-kay-5th-ed-rev-and-updated-by#p157

One leprechaun (in Finian’s Rainbow ) or one invisible rabbit (in Harvey ) were dandy, but too much fantasy made him nervous. book:complete-book-of-1950s-broadway-musicals-the-dan-dietz#p9

Chapman said Rumple was “charming, tasteful, handsome and gently nutty . . . a warmly pleasant show” which was a combination of Topper and Finian’s Rainbow; further, the songs were likable and the production was handsome. book:complete-book-of-1950s-broadway-musicals-the-dan-dietz#p668

Harburg’s greatest success was certainly Finian’s Rainbow (1/10/47; 725 performances), written in collaboration with Burton Lane. Harburg also contributed the libretto along with Fred Saidy. book:broadway-its-history-people-and-places-an-encyclopedia-bloom-ken-1949-2nd-ed-new#p241

Composer Burton Lane did not have as many of his shows produced as his contemporaries, but his shows all contained superior scores. book:broadway-its-history-people-and-places-an-encyclopedia-bloom-ken-1949-2nd-ed-new#p307

Passages naming this show, found by keyword across 178 books. Where this show turns up in the literature, not curated trivia about it.

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