Photo by Tom Steiner for The Citizen

Tim Hartman laughs at any suggestion that his family name is taking on the fame of the legendary Barrymores.

But really, in a way, there is some level of parallel status. Tim is now performing in his second Broadway show, "Finian's Rainbow," and his wife Diana just completed a two-week performance in "Play On" with the Ben Avon Community Theatre Players. Meanwhile, son Jonathan is in rehearsal for Avonworth High School's production of "Radium Girls," leaving older son Mark, a sophomore majoring in art at Edinboro University, the only family member not onstage at the moment, but his resume also includes several musical and dramatic productions.

"The Barrymores? That's really funny. It's a weird comparison. But with me gone, it was a perfect time for Diana to be doing something on her own. It's the first time in 20 years that she's done a show. Really, it's a weird comparison, but it's fun that we're all doing it."

This time last year was not that much fun for the Ben Avon actor whose Pittsburgh credits trace back to the 1970s. Tim was performing in his first Broadway show, a musical version of "A Tale of Two Cities" which closed after less than a two-month run and some blistering New York critics' reviews.
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Actually, the day we got our notices [that the show was closing], the other cast members were so sad. But I was secretly jumping up and down with joy. As excited as I was to be in my first Broadway show, I was missing home. Plus, when my song in the show had been cut, I didn't feel that I had a purpose. I got back to Pittsburgh and stepped right into CLO's production of 'Christmas Carol,'" -- in which he has performed for 17 seasons -- “and four more shows after that."

The shows included "Beauty and the Beast," "Les Miserable," "Copa Cabana," "Into the Woods" and the Encore version of "Finian's Rainbow."

And as it turned out, the short run of "A Tale…" had an upside: That show's director, Warren Carlyle, was putting together a limited-run revival of the 1947 musical comedy "Finian's Rainbow" for the Encore Series at New York's City Center Theater, and Tim got a call to audition.

Tim explained that the Encore Series stages versions of musicals that haven't been done in several years. The actors have scripts in hands, and they perform the show, but it's not the way it would be seen in a regular theater setting. "We just had a one-weekend run, but audience response and reviews were so fantastic. I knew that the show -- with that same cast -- would go to Broadway."

Rehearsals began Aug. 31, preview week started Oct. 8, and the show opened Oct. 29 to unanimously positive reviews from the critics.

Tim said that prior to this, he knew "… only the movie version of the show. It was Francis Ford Coppola's second film as a director. But this is so much better than the film. Comedy doesn't work playing it on the screen instead of on the stage."

He describes "Finian's Rainbow" as being "…a fairy tale. The show has wonderful dancing and beautiful music that you can't help singing as you leave the theater. But underneath, there is the moral” -- actually, several morals -- presented by the show's writer, Yip Harburg, described by Tim as being a "…classic mid-century liberal."

Among those morals that were years ahead of their time six decades ago: segregation, immigration, capitalism, the importance of devotion to community, rather than to material things.

"It deals with important topics. Class struggles and racial issues are a major part of the show. Sometimes Harburg's musicals became so filled with message that his story got lost. 'Finian's Rainbow' is where he found his balance."

Tim's character, Mr. Shears, deals with the issues of “easy” credit. It's a small role that pokes fun at Sears and Roebuck. People, most of them poor sharecroppers, have ordered all of these things -- clothes, sporting goods -- out of a Sears catalogue, but then they have no idea how to pay for them.

A small speaking role, but with top hat perched atop his 6' 6" frame, Tim strikes a formidable figure at center stage. He also is part of the ensemble as husband in an interracial marriage -- a shocking concept for audiences 60 years ago -- and he is one of two understudies for the lead character, Finian McLonergan.

Tim is onstage during most of the two acts, often performing in a capacity that he admits is not necessarily his forte. "I dance," he said. And in this show, "…they really can't cut my scenes or my part. They're integral to the plot."

He looks at his current show as being "… a good experience. The cast works well together. We're having a great time doing this."

Just as last year, Tim has a daily commute from New Jersey to avoid the high-rental costs of Manhattan, performs eight shows each week, and spends his mornings drawing his award-winning editorial cartoons for several newspapers.

Similar to when he appeared in his first Broadway show, Tim said that he has no aspirations beyond what he's doing at the moment. ""I'm happy to have a job. I have friends desperately searching for work, and here I am on Broadway."

And Tim says that he's just "…doing my job. I've taken what I do as my craft. There's a discipline to it I look at it as a craftsman would -- a skill -- a work ethic that's important to me. I could do it just as well in Pittsburgh, but I'm here!"