Finian's Rainbow (1947 Original Broadway Cast)
WhileFinian's Rainbow's plot of racial injustice and heroic tobacco sharecroppers may be dated (never more so than as presented in Francis Ford Coppola's bloated 1968 film),Burton LaneandYip Harburg's score is still a pot of gold. Finian McLonergan (Albert Sharpe) is an elderly Irishman who has traveled to America in hopes of planting some pilfered gold near Fort Knox and watching it grow. As his daughter,Ella Logan(who was actually Scottish) earns her top billing with charming renditions of "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "Look to the Rainbow." Playing Og the leprechaun is Tony winnerDavid Wayne, who has fun with the lyrics of "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," andDonald Richardsas the leader of the sharecroppers croons "Old Devil Moon" and other tunes.This 2000 reissue of the 1947 original Broadway cast restores a missing passage of "Look to the Rainbow," replaces "The Begat" with a superior take, and adds a previously unreleased version of "That Great Come-and-Get-It Day." In three bonus tracks, Harburg sings and presents "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" and "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" for a live audience, and Harburg sings a song cut from the production, "Don't Pass Me By," with Lane at the piano. The booklet includes the original LP's front and back covers, photos, a detailed synopsis, new production notes, and comments on the reissue. It's also midprice. Other than a lack of printed lyrics, this is everything a reissue should be.--David Horiuchi