Now that the curtain has opened on FINIAN'S RAINBOW at the St. James Theater, it’s clear that a smash-hit is in the making.

Here are the reviews:

The New York Times: by Charles Isherwood, 10/30/09
"Permanent sunshine can confidently be predicted for the vicinity of the St. James Theater, where the joyous revival of FINIAN’S RAINBOW opened on Thursday night. Here is where you should head this fall to warm your soul amid the diversions of that ever-great and ever-endangered American art form, musical comedy. All the comforting pleasures of the genre- infectious song, exuberant dancing, jokes both lovably corny and unexpectedly fresh, and of course the satisfying pairing of a him and a her- are on abundant display in this thoroughly winning production, a welcome picker-upper… the score for FINIAN’S RAINBOW is an overflowing pot of memorable songs, by turns yearning and bouncy, mocking and sincere, soft as a rose petal and clever as a crossword."

The Daily News: by Joe Dziemianowicz 10/30/09
"Old show, fresh delights. That’s the aim of any revival and FINIAN’S RAINBOW hits the mark…It blends boy-meets-girl with Irish lore, loopy enchantment and edgy social commentary in a Southern setting, Missitucky… Harburg and Saidy jammed their script with jabs at prejudice, greed and the political establishment. The barbs still grab and a subplot about a bigoted white senator who turns into a black man has the satirical saltiness of "South Park."…What makes the show a gem is the beautiful score by Harburg and Lane. It’s wall-to-wall ear candy and witty staging, joyful dancing and fine cast showcase the music to the max."

New York Post: by Elisabeth Vincentelli 10/30/09
"Ireland and the American South share a taste for colorful folklore and tall tales—which means that either is a perfect background for a musical. FINIAN’S RAINBOW goes one step further and borrows from both…The show overflows with terrific songs…the numbers are all sorts of great, …the songs are pure heaven.”

The Wall Street Journal: by Terry Teachout 10/30/09
"I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more musically satisfying Broadway show than FINIAN’S RAINBOW. Not only is the Yip Harburg-Burton Lane score a string of flawlessly cut gems, but everyone involved with the production takes the songs seriously, performing them with love and sensitivity…We know from the reviews of the original Broadway production of FINIAN’S RAINBOW that …George Jean Nathan, one of the hardest-boiled customers ever to occupy an aisle seat, called it "the most amusing musical fantasy book since the last really amusing one which I am too tired to dig that far back in my memory to identify.”

USA Today: 10/30/09
"Like a number of musicals introduced in the first half of the 20th century, FINIAN’S RAINBOW was more socially progressive and riskier than a lot of contemporary fans realize…This old-fashioned musical comedy, with its witty, whimsical book and sumptuous score, carries pointed lessons about tolerance, greed and the shared traits that make all living beings vulnerable and valuable.” "These teachings are delivered with a light hand and a full heart in the revival that opened Thursday at the St. James Theatre. Under Warren Carlyle’s gently buoyant direction, Rainbow’s eclectic characters—among them a racist Southern senator, a mischievous Irishman and a leprechaun—come to life naturally and gracefully, winking at stereotypes while transcending them.”

Variety: by David Rooney, 10/30/09
"What better time for a show that makes gentle mockery of that incurable habit of building the illusion of wealth on nothing more than a dream and a credit line, while also offering the rose-tinted consolation that such folly will turn out fine in the end? But it’s not so much the uncanny appropriateness of its pixified fairy tale as the enveloping warmth of Burton Lane’s melodies and the spry wit of Yip Harburg’s lyrics that make FINIAN’S RAINBOW such an infectious charmer.”

New Jersey News: by Michael Sommers 10/30/09
"Anyone with a taste for vintage musicals will want to savor the sparkling concoction known as "FINIAN’S RAINBOW,” which returned to Broadway on Thursday in a charming production at the St. James Theatre. This 1947 treasure from the Golden Age of Broadway musicals offers a whimsical story and an exceptionally lovely score by lyricist E.Y. (Yip) Harburg and composer Burton Lane that features such gorgeous standards as "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?’ "Old Devil Moon” and "When I’m Not Near the Girl I love (I Love the Girl I’m Near).” It is known best to the masses in its 1968 film version with Fred Astaire and Petula Clark. Oh, right, now you remember… that yarn about a roguish Irish fellow burying a wee pot of gold in the mythical state of Missitucky and all of the minor miracles arising from it. A lovesick leprechaun and a blowhard Southern senator also pop up in the fantastical plot by Harburg and Fred Saidy.”

Associated Press by Michael Kuchwara, Drama Critic 10/29/09
"That delectable bit of musical-theater blarney called FINIAN’S RAINBOW has found its way back to Broadway for the first time in nearly half a century, its charms undiminished, particularly its buoyant score. This latest revival, which opened Thursday at the St. James Theatre, has a refreshing, retro feel to it. There’s no flashy staging or gargantuan scenic designs to distract from the handiwork of director-choreographer Warren Carlyle, who has elected to tell the story as simply and sweetly as possible. And sweet, with just the right amount of impishness, is what best describes the ever-youthful score by Burton Lane (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics). The American songbook gained a couple of classics with such Harburg-Lane confections as "Old Devil Moon,” "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” and "Look to the Rainbow.”