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The Scottsboro Boys

Music by John Kander & Fred Ebb; Book by David Thompson; Directed by Susan Stroman


The cast of The Scottsboro Boys. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Editor's note: This is a review of the spring 2010 off-Broadway production of The Scottsboro Boys, which ran at The Vineyard Theatre. The show will open on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on October 7, 2010.


BOTTOM LINE: I haven’t been this moved by a piece of theatre in a very, very long time.

Oh, Kander and Ebb. You’re quite a team. Chicago and Cabaret are two of my all-time favorite musicals. I find both stories endearing, surprising, uplifting and captivating, despite the commercially obvious nature they’ve acquired over the years. You are unquestionably two of the most gifted contributors to American Musical Theatre in the past century. Your newest musical, The Scottsboro Boys, has just opened off-Broadway, and I have to admit that although I was excited to see it, I did not think you would outdo yourselves. But holy crap, have you ever. Not only is this new musical (directed and choreographed by the brilliant Susan Stroman and written by David Thompson) entertaining, but it is intelligent, thoughtful and incredibly important.

I’m not a big gusher any more; it’s hard to be effusive when you’re always thinking analytically. The Scottsboro Boys, however, has rendered me unrestrained. I think everyone should see this show. The caveat here is that although it’s a new musical from a recognizable production team, it is certainly not a feel-good time – or rather, it is, but in an uncomfortably ironic way.

See, the production is a minstrel show, a throw-back to the stereotyped, racially insensitive form of entertainment popular in the very early 20th century. In this one, we see eleven triple-threat performers barrel onto the stage and get ready for a night of entertainment. They are black, and their Master of Ceremonies is an older white gentleman (played by John Cullum); he is the only white actor on the stage. As they hunker down for a helluva show (a big opening dance number with tambourines starts things off), Cullum’s character announces that tonight the troupe will tell the story of the Scottsboro Boys.

The story is based on fact, on an important part of American history that doesn’t get enough prominence in history classes. What proceeds is the unfolding of a tale about wrongful imprisonment, civil liberties, truth and sticking up for your beliefs no matter the cost. The Scottsboro Boys were a group of black teenagers in the early 1930s. They were arrested for a crime they didn’t commit and spent the subsequent several years going through trial after trial (always found guilty) and appealing their case. Although they were in Alabama, a state that wasn’t known to look to kindly upon blacks, they had considerable support from the north, thus funding the several appeals and using the opportunity to fight for civil rights.

The subject matter is unquestionably uncomfortable, and that’s the point. The antics on stage are entertaining to be sure – but how couth is it to laugh at a minstrel show, something that is obviously and intentionally racist? The Scottsboro Boys intends to expose the irony, and for that reason, the show is much deeper and more intellectual than similar productions. Chicago is about murderers and felons, but everyone is still endearing. Cabaret takes place in early Nazi Germany and there are certainly dark hints of the brewing oppression, but these political undertones aren’t the basis of the plot. The Scottsboro Boys brings this hateful time in American history to the forefront of the show’s message, and it does so in an incomparably consequential fashion.

For this reason, The Scottsboro Boys is a more provocative theatergoing experience. However, it’s still quite entertaining. The cast is supurb. Coleman Domingo, as Mr. Bones, and Forrest McClendon, as Mr. Tambor lead the minstrel show and then take on the roles of the white authority figures in the story. Their cheery, make ‘em smile disposition turns eerily sinister. The Scottsboro Boys themselves are a triple-threat bunch. Although the dance numbers don’t evoke the escapism that other musical theatre performances can, Stroman’s choreography is perfectly in tune with the nature of the show. One standout routine is a tap number performed around an electric chair as the youngest of the boys is taunted with his impending fate.

Production wise, the show is gorgeous. Some of Kander and Ebb’s previous productions have had a minimalist design aesthetic, and The Scottsboro Boys is similarly designed. The show opens with a sort of art installation made of a dozen or so silver chairs, all intertwined and stuck to each other in interesting ways – sort of in a clump upstage. Throughout the show, those chairs are moved and transformed to become a train, a jail, a courtroom and a bus. With the addition of two long planks, the set (by Beowulf Borritt) becomes a creative playground for creating these scenes. Gorgeous lighting design (by Kevin Adams) contributes to the basic yet incredibly transformative look of the show.

The brilliant way this story is brought to life, coupled with the substance of the narrative, make it a definite must-see. Plus, the music is catchy, the performances compelling, and the presentation completely engaging from the first note the orchestra plays. This show stuck with me long after I left the theatre. It is rare that a new musical resonates so deeply with its audience, but I could tell from the uproarious standing ovation that my fellow audience members felt the same. It’s an important story, and this show is produced with respect for its reality. The experience presents so much more than musicals are generally able to offer the audience. I seriously hope it gets a life after this short, off-Broadway run. It deserves to be seen.

(The Scottsboro Boys plays at The Vineyard Theatre, 108 East 15th Street, through April 18th. Performances are Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $70 each. Based on availability, $20 rush tickets can be purchased at the box office 2 hours before the show. Rush tickets are cash only. For more show info or to buy tickets visit vineyardtheatre.org.)