Thursday, July 16, 2009

Scranton, Pennsylvanians, Begat! Finian's Rainbow Returning to Broadway This October

Scranton, Pennsylvanians, BEGAT!

After a 4-day limited run at City Center in New York this past March, the Tony-Award winning classic musical Finian's Rainbow is returning to Broadway this Fall for an open-ended run. The revival will celebrate its opening night on October 29th at the St. James Theatre in NYC, with previews beginning October 8th.

The revival's cast will include Christopher Fitzgerald (Wicked, Young Frankenstein), Kate Baldwin (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Chuck Cooper (Caroline or Change) and Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu, written by Wilkes-Barre native Douglas Carter Beane).

T
he show originally opened on Broadway in 1947 and played for over 700 performances. It has also been revived in limited runs in 1955, 1960 and this past year as part of NY City Center's Encores! series. It was also adapted into film in 1968.

Towards the end of the show (and the film), Senator Billboard Rawkins and the Passion Pilgrim Gospellers break out into a song titled The Beget. Scranton is mentioned in the lyric section below:

The Lats and Lithuanians, begat.
Scranton Pennsylvanians, begat.
Strictly vegetarians, begat.
And honorary Aryans, begat.
Startin from Genesis, they begat.
Heroes and menaces, begat.
Fat filibusterers, begat.

To read the complete lyrics to The Beget, as well as the full score of Finian's Rainbow, click here. For the original blog entry for the film version of Finian's Rainbow, click here.

For tickets to the upcoming revival of Finian's Rainbow, visit Telecharge by clicking here.




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