I cannot remember being more unattracted to a musical
than I was to Rainbow, at the Orpheum. Brainless, heartless, humorless,
campy, complacent, gleeful, dirty, and soppy, it was written by James Rado,
a co-author of Hair (score and lyrics), and by Mr. Rado and his brother
Ted (book). (what a lovely show Hair was in its original production
down at the Public!) Even a glance at the dramatis personae listed in the
program is enough to sink the heart: the hero is Man, and he is supported
by, among others, Jesus, Buddha, president, and First Lady. Man,
by the way, is a young soldier killed in Vietnam, and Jesus, also by the
way, spends much time flouncing around in a diaper secured by a big white
safety pin and being being lustfully pursued by First Lady. Mr. Rado's
in-the-manner-of music is certainly bountiful - there are forty-two songs,
most of them imitations of hits of the thirties and forties - and often
tuneful. The music may well deserve more praise than I can give it,
since I heard most of it through a hum of rage, and it is sung and danced
to with unflagging enthusiasm by all present. Of the performing,
I particularly enjoyed the deftness and commanding presence of Bobby C.
Furguson, as Wizard, and the directness and simplicity and pleasant singing
of Kay Cole, as Boy's Girl. Now we can all forget about Rainbow.
Copyright The New Yorker.