Golden Rainbow

Golden Rainbow was the title of a Broadway musical that opened in 1968. It starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé for its entire run until it closed in early 1969.

The previews for Golden Rainbow began at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia on November 28, 1967, moving to its new location in New York City at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway on December 27, 1967. The musical officially opened on February 4, 1968 at the Shubert, where it played until November 17, 1968. On November 19, 1968, its run resumed at the George Abbott Theatre on Broadway, where Golden Rainbow played until it closed on January 11, 1969.

The stars of Golden Rainbow, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, were already well known from their extensive work in music, film and television during the 1950s and 1960s. The musical is perhaps best remembered for the song "I've Gotta Be Me", released as a single in the late 1960s by both Lawrence and Sammy Davis, Jr. (Davis's version reached #11 on the pop chart and #1 on the easy listening chart). The show concerns a man living in Las Vegas, Nevada and raising his son alone; his late wife's sister arrives and tries to bring stability to the boy's life, but unintentionally falls in love with her brother-in-law.

Author William Goldman wrote a gossipy and unflattering chapter about Golden Rainbow in his book The Season, which was written while the show was preparing for Broadway. The chapter, entitled "Washing Garbage," claimed that the material was weak to begin with and suffered from strenuous attempts to bring everything up to the level expected for a show starring the hugely popular Steve and Eydie.

The music and lyrics for Golden Rainbow were by Walter Marks; the book was by Ernest Kinoy; and the musical was based on the film adaptation (by screenwriter Arnold Schulman) of the play A Hole in the Head. Although the musical did not win any Tony Awards, actor Scott Jacoby was nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and Robert Randolph was nominated for Best Scenic Design.