Finian’s Rainbow–Part Two

Let’s raise the curtain and view the land of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, near Fort Knox. We are going to look at and listen to the first four songs of Act One of Finian’s Rainbow, although we are including ten clips because we are featuring more than one set of performers. There is no one performance that is so so superior that we can exclude the rest. All bring a certain charm; all have their own magic.

The sheriff is about to auction off the land of the sharecroppers in the Valley for failure to pay back taxes. The sharecroppers are begging for time, knowing that their union leader, Woody Mahoney, is coming back with enough money to pay the taxes. Just as Meredith Willson opened The Music Man with a song timed to imitate the movement of a train, Burton Lane uses “This Time of the Year” to give the audience the impression that Woody is coming in on a train to save them. We hear the repetition of “Woody’s Comin’ “ as the music then morphs into a series of comments and refrains that move us rhythmically to the point where we are excited with anticipation at the imminent arrival of the man with the money. This is an audio clip from the 2016 Irish Repertory Theatre recording taken from its production of Finian’s Rainbow. There is only the chorus and a piano accompaniment, but notice the power of the choral responses. Also note the last 40 seconds or so of the number, as the piano and men’s counterpoint push the sound of the train coming at us.

Now, let’s listen to the same number from an audio recording of the Ken Darby Singers in the 1968 movie version. While the orchestration is more elaborate, we still can feel the exuberance of the chorus as they await Woody’s arrival.

One of the main reasons this opening choral number is so exhilarating lies with its arranger, Lyn Murray. Born in London, England in 1909 as Lionel Breeze, the son of a violinist, Murray started his career as a seaman and then took a job as a reporter in Philadelphia. Eventually he attended Julliard School in New York, before starting multiple careers in radio, television, film and Broadway. His Broadway experience consisted of choral arrangements or vocal arrangements for This Is the Army, Swingin’ the Dream, Panama Hattie, Let’s Face it and Finian’s Rainbow. He created scores for ten Hollywood movies, including To Catch a Thief in 1955.

He founded the Lyn Murray Singers in the mid-1930’s, and they were featured as the “Lyn Murray Singers” in Finian’s Rainbow in 1947.

The sharecroppers succeed in having the auction delayed; the sharecroppers exit; and Finian and Sharon enter. They have been wandering around rural America, and Sharon longs for her home in Ireland. The sounds of nature remind her of the land she left. “I hear a bird” is the beginning of the lyric for a beautiful song, called “How Are Things in Glocca Morra.” Here is Kate Baldwin performing the song in a video clip from the 2009 Encores! revival of the show.

We also have a video clip of the scene from the movie, featuring Petula Clark as Sharon and Fred Astaire as Finian.

Finian assures Sharon that they have reached the end of their travels and have found the one place in the world were one crock of gold can be planted in the ground and grow into many crocks of gold.

The sharecroppers return with Woody, but Woody has not raised sufficient money to pay the back taxes. Finian has enough money to save some of the land. Finian has bought some time, and the sharecroppers welcome Finian and Sharon to the Valley. Sharon explains her father’s philosophy by singing “Look to the Rainbow.” Our first audio clip is from the Irish Repertory recording, featuring Melissa Errico.

We also have an audio clip of Kate Baldwin singing “Look to the Rainbow” from the 2009 Encores! production.

Finally, we have a video clip the song from the movie, where it was turned into a duet between Petula Clark and Fred Astaire.

That night, when all are asleep, Finian looks for a suitable place to bury the crock of gold. He finds a good spot and marks it so that he knows where it is, when he is confronted by Og, who pleads for the return of the gold before he turns mortal. The damage is spreading up his legs to his knees. The issue of his looming mortality is left unresolved as attention shifts back to Woody and Sharon. They have been looking for her missing father and wind up realizing that they are falling in love. They sing the lovely duet, “Old Devil Moon.” Here is a video clip of of Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson singing this duet from the 2009 Encores! production.

We also have an audio clip from the 2016 Irish Repertory revival that provides a medley of “Old Devil Moon” and “Look to the Rainbow;” it also includes pictures from the Irish Repertory production. Note the picture of Milo O’Shea at the end; we all mourn the passing of this brilliant actor.

Finally, we are going to end this segment with a video clip of the song from the 1968 movie.

In the next segment, coming on Saturday, January 20, we will feature the next four songs from Act One. We think you will enjoy them just as much as the first four songs.