The Scottsboro Boys in the news

Posted on November 1, 2010 by bbbblogger

KANDER & EBB’S

IN THE NEWS

Production, WHICH OPENED LAST NIGHT ON BROADWAY,

featured ON NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, GOOD DAY NEW YORK

THEATERMANIA AND IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is the thrilling final collaboration by musical theatre giants John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret). Based on the notorious “Scottsboro” case in the 1930s (in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime) this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history with brilliant originality. This critically-acclaimed production, directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and featuring a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago‘s record-breaking revival), comes to Broadway following a sold-out run at the Vineyard Theatre. The production was further developed this summer at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is the winner of the 2010 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and the 2010 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical and a 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics. The show has also been nominated for four AUDELCO Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre, including Outstanding Musical Production.

Set design is by Beowulf Boritt, costume design is by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design is Ken Billington and sound design is by Peter Hylenski. Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman, with musical arrangements by Glen Kelly. Music direction is by David Loud.

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is produced on Broadway by Barry and Fran Weissler, Jacki Barlia Florin, Janet Pailet/Sharon Carr/Patricia R. Klausner, Nederlander Presentations Inc./The Shubert Organization Inc., Beechwood Entertainment, Broadway Across America, Mark Zimmerman, Adam Blanshay/R2D2 Productions, Rick Danzansky/Barry Tatelman, Bruce Robert Harris/Jack W. Batman, Allen Spivak/Jerry Frankel, Bard Theatricals/Probo Productions/Randy Donaldson, Catherine Schreiber/Michael Palitz/Patti Laskawy, Vineyard Theatre.

The production, which opened last night on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45^th Street), has been in the news lately:

‘Scottsboro Boys’ tell their own story on Broadway

National Public Radio

November 1, 2010

A new musical called The Scottsboro Boys just opened on Broadway, and though it boasts a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, the showbiz legends who created Cabaret and Chicago, it’s still a tall order — a musical about one of the most shameful episodes in American racial history. There are plenty of theater fans who wonder if such a grim story can be made into a popular entertainment.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, the pavement outside the Lyceum Theatre was abuzz with a matinee crowd. Among them were students from Harlem’s Academy for Social Action who’d come to see The Scottsboro Boys as part of a program called Open Doors, which introduces New York City high-schoolers to Broadway shows. Seventeen-year-old Samantha Henry had devoured the study guide, and she couldn’t wait for the show to start.

“Oh, I was excited to see it, because of the format of the show,” she said. “Like, they put it so it’s entertaining, but at the same time you get to get the real racist content of the 1930s.”

In the infamous case that inspired the show, nine African-American teenagers were unjustly accused of raping two white women in Alabama. The trials and appeals spread out for almost a decade, ending up in the Supreme Court twice, and the circus surrounding the case captured national attention. Director Susan Stroman says the creators of the musical took their cue from lyricist Fred Ebb, who died in 2004, before the show was completed.

“He said, you know, ‘If you we don’t make this show entertaining, no one’s gonna listen to this story! It has to be entertaining.”

To read the complete story, click on the following link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130914772

Kander & Ebb musical ‘Scottsboro Boys’ makes it to Broadway

By Barbara Isenberg

Los Angeles Times

October 31, 2010

Reporting from New York — — It all started at lyricist Fred Ebb’s kitchen table about eight years ago. Ebb and composer John Kander, the legendary songwriting team that crafted celebrated scores for “Chicago,” “Cabaret” and nearly a dozen other Broadway shows, were ready to start a new show, and so were their frequent collaborators, director Susan Stroman and librettist David Thompson.

As the four friends talked first about the Depression, in which two of their earlier musicals were set, then about great American trials, they returned again and again to the infamous Scottsboro Boys case. On March 25, 1931, nine black teenagers bound for Memphis were pulled off a freight train in Scottsboro, Ala., then falsely accused, imprisoned and convicted for raping two white women. Their convictions were later overturned — twice — by the U.S. Supreme Court, and one of the two women recanted her testimony. But each youth spent at least six years in jail, and nine lives were ruined.

“When I was little, I remember the Scottsboro case being in the newspaper all the time,” recalls 83-year-old Kander. “But as I grew older, it was there less and less until it wasn’t in the newspaper at all. These were real people, and our show could bring them back to life again.”

To read the complete article, click on the following link:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/31/entertainment/la-ca-scottsboro-boys-20101031

The Scottsboro Boys

Good Day New York

November 1, 2010

A new musical on Broadway is bringing American history to life. “The Scottsboro Boys” opened this weekend at the Lyceum Theater.

Entertainment reporter Julie Chang went under the bright lights for a look at a dark chapter.

To view the feature, click on the following link:

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/the-scottsboro-boys-20101101

Let’s Hear it for the Boys!

TheaterMania.com

October 28, 2010