The Scottsboro Boys (musical)
Encyclopedia
The Scottsboro Boys is a musical
with a book by David Thompson
, music by John Kander
and lyrics by Fred Ebb
. Based on the Scottsboro Boys
trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb
prior to the latter's death. The musical has the framework of a minstrel show
, altered to "create a musical social critique" with a company that, except for one, consists "entirely of African-American performers."
The Scottsboro Boys, despite closing on Broadway
in December 2010, received twelve Tony Award
nominations in May 2011
, but failed to win any. The musical's twelve nominations were second only to The Book of Mormon, which garnered fourteen nominations that year.
, introduces the players in the troupe, then begins the story ("Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!").
In 1931, Haywood Patterson
, one of the nine boys at a train station, is ready to see the world ("Commencing in Chattanooga"). As the train is stopped, two runaway girls jump out. To get away, they accuse the nearby boys of rape ("Alabama Ladies"), and the boys are sent to jail. However, without a good lawyer ("Nothin'"), they are found guilty and are sentenced to death at Kilby Prison. Eugene, the youngest, has nightmares ("Electric Chair"). Awaiting execution, the boys think about the one thing they want most ("Go Back Home"). Just as the executions are about to begin, the verdict is overturned. In the North, the case has become a cause celebre
, and the Supreme Court has ruled the boys didn't have effective counsel. While the boys aren't free, they do get another trial ("Shout!").
A year later, they are still in prison. Haywood learns to write, and shares his short story ("Make Friends With the Truth"). The next trial gets underway in the spring of 1933. Public outrage over the trial has grown, especially in the North. They are given a New York lawyer, Samuel Leibowitz
, to represent them to court ("That's Not The Way We Do Things"). During the trail, Ruby Bates, one of the girls, surprises the court and admits that the boys are innocent ("Never Too Late"). But, upon cross-examination, the Southern District Attorney claims that Ruby Bates' change of heart was purchased by the defense ("Financial Advice").
While the boys sit in a holding cell, waiting for the verdict, they talk about what they will do when the trial is over, believing that they can't be found guilty of crime that never happened. They talk about heading North, but the Interlocutor reminds them that they belong in the South ("Southern Days"). The boys are found guilty again and are sent back to prison. Haywood tries to escape in order to see his mother before she dies ("Commencing in Chattanooga (reprise)"), but he's quickly caught.
As time passes, Leibowitz and the North continue to appeal the verdict. In every trial, the boys are found guilty. Even the other girl, Victoria Price, begins to buckle ("Alabama Ladies (reprise)"). By 1937, four of the youngest boys are released, but the other five remain in prison. Haywood wonders: "Will ever be justice?" Finally, Haywood is brought up for parole in front of the governor of Alabama
, but is demanded to plead guilty ("It's Gonna Take Time").
He tells the truth that he didn't do the crime, but is sent back to prison again ("'Zat So?/You Can't Do Me"). Haywood dies twenty-one years later in prison. As the show ends, the Interlocutor calls for the finale, but the boys are reluctant ("The Scottsboro Boys").
The scene fades back to the bus stop, just as the bus arrives. The lady, who is, in fact, Rosa Parks
, boards the bus. The driver tells her to sit in the back to make room for a white man to sit down, but she stays in the front. Parks' actions spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott
.
first met with Thompson, Kander, and Ebb. The team began to "research the famous American trials" and found the Scottsboro Boys
trial, which they thought was "a story that needed to be told." After Ebb's death in 2004, the project was put on hold. However, in 2008, Kander reapproached Stroman and Thompson, and the project continued. Kander finished writing the lyrics in Ebb's place.
production opened at the Vineyard Theatre
on March 10, 2010, with previews having started on February 12, 2010. This was a limited engagement, which closed on April 18, 2010. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman
, the original cast included John Cullum
, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Colman Domingo
. The creative team included sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Toni-Leslie James, and lighting by Kevin Adams
.
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, starting July 31, 2010 and officially August 6 through September 25, with Susan Stroman as director and choreographer.
on October 7, 2010, at the Lyceum Theatre, and officially opened on October 31, 2010, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. The set design was by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Ken Billington
and sound design by Peter Hylenski. Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman
, with musical arrangements by Glen Kelly. The production was music directed by David Loud
and conducted by Paul Masse. This production closed on December 12, 2010, after 29 previews and 49 regular performances.
, production of The Scottsboro Boys will play at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre beginning on January 20, 2012. Stroman's original direction and choreography will be replicated by Jeff Whiting. The limited engagement will conclude on February 19, 2012.
on April 22, 2012, running until June 3, 2012.
, San Francisco, from June 19, 2012, to July 15, 2012.
and Boston
are ongoing".
The show is performed without an intermission.
praised the cast.
Reviews for the Broadway production were mixed (the median grade of 28 major reviews was a "B+"). While the show received mostly positive reviews, The Wall Street Journal
called the show "a musical that slathers this terrible tale in a thick coat of musical-comedy frosting that has been spiked with cheap, elephantine irony. I can't imagine a nastier-tasting recipe."
The CurtainUps reviewer wrote, "While The Scottsboro Boys has made the leap from a small downtown theater to Broadway without a stumble, the tricky question as to whether it will clear the financial hurdle of having to sell more and higher priced tickets, has yet to be answered. For all the singing and dancing, this is not a cheerful story, nor does it have sexy ladies or a romantic element. But neither is it the overly familiar standard fare geared to the tourist trade."
Ben Brantley
, reviewing for The New York Times
wrote, "With Scottsboro it is as if the events on which it is based are still too raw and upsetting to be treated with too much panache. Though it features some high-kicking dancing from its personable and industrious ensemble, this production gives the impression of always treading carefully, with furrowed brow, stooped shoulders and an accusatory glare."
John McWhorter
of The New Republic
panned the production, writing that "ideally, [this would be] a piece that grappled with the real story of the Scottsboro boys, a rich one driven by the conflicting impulses of desperate people with conflicting agendas. But the musical paints it in such broad strokes that it’s hard to engage with it on any substantial level." McWhorter concluded that "[i]f this thing were about Haymarket
or Tiananmen Square
we’d never have heard of it. The only reason The Scottsboro Boys has made it to the Great White Way is the Great White Guilt
."
The score was generally well received by critics, with The Associated Press review saying, "Kander’s melodies are effortless, pouring out in a variety of styles from cakewalk to folk ballad to comic ditty. Ebb died in 2004, but here his clear, precise and often quite funny lyrics have been finished by Kander, and the transitions are seamless." McWhorter, however, disagreed, writing that "the Scottsboro score isn’t even much. One of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s least celebrated scores, Steel Pier
, is Porgy and Bess
compared to this one. Time passes for show music writers: the Scottsboro score is perhaps analogous to Cole Porter
’s Aladdin or Jule Styne
’s The Red Shoes
. I would barely suspect Kander and Ebb had written this score if not told."
Whoopi Goldberg
addressed these protests on The View, saying that "there's been a lot of protests all over New York against this show - a show that people have not seen. The people who are protesting this show, 90% of the people have not seen it . . . People are protesting saying that it shouldn't be in a minstrel show, this is too serious. What people don't understand is that you have to bring information to people in an most-invigorating way."
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by David Thompson
David Thompson (writer)
David Thompson is an American writer and playwright. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.- Career :His theatre credits include And The World Goes 'Round , The Look of Love, Thou Shalt Not, Flora the Red Menace , Steel Pier , and the 1996...
, music by John Kander
John Kander
John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander...
and lyrics by Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera....
. Based on the Scottsboro Boys
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb . Known primarily for their stage musicals, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies including their most famous song, the theme song from Martin Scorsese's New York, New York...
prior to the latter's death. The musical has the framework of a minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
, altered to "create a musical social critique" with a company that, except for one, consists "entirely of African-American performers."
The Scottsboro Boys, despite closing on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in December 2010, received twelve Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations in May 2011
65th Tony Awards
The 65th Annual Tony Awards was held on June 12, 2011 to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2010–2011 season. They were held at the Beacon Theatre, ending a fourteen-year tradition of holding the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall. The Awards ceremony was broadcast live on CBS...
, but failed to win any. The musical's twelve nominations were second only to The Book of Mormon, which garnered fourteen nominations that year.
Synopsis
As she is waiting for a bus, a lady lifts a corner of a cake box she's holding. As it brings back memories, the scene around her fades aways, and the minstrels arrive ("Minstrel March"). The Interlocutor, the host of the Minstrel ShowMinstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
, introduces the players in the troupe, then begins the story ("Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!").
In 1931, Haywood Patterson
Haywood Patterson
Haywood Patterson was one of the Scottsboro Boys . He was accused of raping Victoria Price and Ruby Bates...
, one of the nine boys at a train station, is ready to see the world ("Commencing in Chattanooga"). As the train is stopped, two runaway girls jump out. To get away, they accuse the nearby boys of rape ("Alabama Ladies"), and the boys are sent to jail. However, without a good lawyer ("Nothin'"), they are found guilty and are sentenced to death at Kilby Prison. Eugene, the youngest, has nightmares ("Electric Chair"). Awaiting execution, the boys think about the one thing they want most ("Go Back Home"). Just as the executions are about to begin, the verdict is overturned. In the North, the case has become a cause celebre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
, and the Supreme Court has ruled the boys didn't have effective counsel. While the boys aren't free, they do get another trial ("Shout!").
A year later, they are still in prison. Haywood learns to write, and shares his short story ("Make Friends With the Truth"). The next trial gets underway in the spring of 1933. Public outrage over the trial has grown, especially in the North. They are given a New York lawyer, Samuel Leibowitz
Samuel Leibowitz
Samuel Simon Leibowitz was a Romanian-born American criminal defense attorney, famously noted for winning the vast majority of his cases, who later became a judge in New York City.-Early years:...
, to represent them to court ("That's Not The Way We Do Things"). During the trail, Ruby Bates, one of the girls, surprises the court and admits that the boys are innocent ("Never Too Late"). But, upon cross-examination, the Southern District Attorney claims that Ruby Bates' change of heart was purchased by the defense ("Financial Advice").
While the boys sit in a holding cell, waiting for the verdict, they talk about what they will do when the trial is over, believing that they can't be found guilty of crime that never happened. They talk about heading North, but the Interlocutor reminds them that they belong in the South ("Southern Days"). The boys are found guilty again and are sent back to prison. Haywood tries to escape in order to see his mother before she dies ("Commencing in Chattanooga (reprise)"), but he's quickly caught.
As time passes, Leibowitz and the North continue to appeal the verdict. In every trial, the boys are found guilty. Even the other girl, Victoria Price, begins to buckle ("Alabama Ladies (reprise)"). By 1937, four of the youngest boys are released, but the other five remain in prison. Haywood wonders: "Will ever be justice?" Finally, Haywood is brought up for parole in front of the governor of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, but is demanded to plead guilty ("It's Gonna Take Time").
He tells the truth that he didn't do the crime, but is sent back to prison again ("'Zat So?/You Can't Do Me"). Haywood dies twenty-one years later in prison. As the show ends, the Interlocutor calls for the finale, but the boys are reluctant ("The Scottsboro Boys").
The scene fades back to the bus stop, just as the bus arrives. The lady, who is, in fact, Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
, boards the bus. The driver tells her to sit in the back to make room for a white man to sit down, but she stays in the front. Parks' actions spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
.
Background
In 2002, Susan StromanSusan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
first met with Thompson, Kander, and Ebb. The team began to "research the famous American trials" and found the Scottsboro Boys
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
trial, which they thought was "a story that needed to be told." After Ebb's death in 2004, the project was put on hold. However, in 2008, Kander reapproached Stroman and Thompson, and the project continued. Kander finished writing the lyrics in Ebb's place.
Off-Broadway, 2010
The Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
production opened at the Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
on March 10, 2010, with previews having started on February 12, 2010. This was a limited engagement, which closed on April 18, 2010. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
, the original cast included John Cullum
John Cullum
John Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...
, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Colman Domingo
Colman Domingo
Colman Domingo is an American actor, playwright and director.Domingo graduated from Temple University where he majored in journalism...
. The creative team included sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Toni-Leslie James, and lighting by Kevin Adams
Kevin Adams
For the NHL player, see Kevyn Adams.Kevin Adams is an American theatrical lighting designer. He has earned three Tony Awards for lighting design.-Biography:...
.
Minneapolis, 2010
The musical opened at the Guthrie TheaterGuthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the result of the desire of Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea, and Peter Zeisler to create a resident acting company that would produce and perform the classics in...
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, starting July 31, 2010 and officially August 6 through September 25, with Susan Stroman as director and choreographer.
Broadway, 2010
The musical began previews on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on October 7, 2010, at the Lyceum Theatre, and officially opened on October 31, 2010, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman. The set design was by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Ken Billington
Ken Billington
Ken Billington is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser....
and sound design by Peter Hylenski. Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman
Larry Hochman
Larry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon....
, with musical arrangements by Glen Kelly. The production was music directed by David Loud
David Loud
David Loud is an American music supervisor, music director, conductor, vocal and dance arranger, pianist and actor...
and conducted by Paul Masse. This production closed on December 12, 2010, after 29 previews and 49 regular performances.
Philadelphia, 2012
A Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, production of The Scottsboro Boys will play at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre beginning on January 20, 2012. Stroman's original direction and choreography will be replicated by Jeff Whiting. The limited engagement will conclude on February 19, 2012.
San Diego, 2012
A new production will open at San Diego's Old Globe TheatreOld Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...
on April 22, 2012, running until June 3, 2012.
San Francisco, 2012
It has been announced that the musical will run at the American Conservatory TheaterAmerican Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
, San Francisco, from June 19, 2012, to July 15, 2012.
Other productions
Producers confirmed that "discussions with resident not-for-profit theatres in Seattle, ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
are ongoing".
Original Broadway cast
- Sharon Washington - The Lady (Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
) - Colman DomingoColman DomingoColman Domingo is an American actor, playwright and director.Domingo graduated from Temple University where he majored in journalism...
- Mr. Bones, Sheriff Bones, Lawyer Bones, Guard Bones, Attorney General,Clerk - Forrest McClendonForrest McClendonForrest McClendon is an American stage actor, singer and professor. McClendon received a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical nomination in 2011 for his portrayal of Mr. Tambo in the Broadway musical, The Scottsboro Boys...
- Mr. Tambo, Deputy Tambo, Lawyer Tambo, Guard Tambo, Samuel Leibowitz - John CullumJohn CullumJohn Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...
- Interlocutor - James T. LaneJames T. LaneJames T. Lane is an actor and dancer. He made his Broadway debut with the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line playing Richie Walters. After ACL, Lane joined the cast of Chicago: The musical...
- Ozie Powell/Ruby Bates - Josh Breckenridge - Olen Montgomery
- Kendrick Jones - Willie Roberson
- Julius Thomas III - Roy Wright
- Christian Dante White - Charles Weems/Victoria Price
- Rodney Hicks - Clarence Norris
- Jeremy Gumbs - Eugene Williams
- Derrick Cobey - Andy Wright
- Joshua HenryJoshua HenryJoshua Anthony Charlton Henry is an African-American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for portraying Haywood Patterson in Kander and Ebb's 2010 musical The Scottsboro Boys, for which he received a Tony Award nomination...
- Haywood Patterson
Musical numbers
- Minstrel March – Orchestra
- Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! – Company
- Commencing in Chattanooga – Haywood and Scottsboro Boys
- Alabama Ladies – Victoria Price and Ruby Bates
- Nothin' – Haywood
- Electric Chair – Guards, Eugene, Electrofied Charlie, and Electrofied Issac
- Go Back Home – Haywood, Eugene, and Scottsboro Boys
- Shout! – Scottsboro Boys
- Make Friends with the Truth – Haywood, Billy, and Scottsboro Boys
- That's Not the Way We Do Things – Samuel Leibowitz
- Never Too Late – Ruby Bates and Scottsboro Boys
- Financial Advice – Attorney General
- Southern Days – Scottsboro Boys
- Alabama Ladies (Reprise) – Victoria Price
- It's Gonna Take Time – Interlocutor
- Zat So – Governor of Alabama, Samuel Leibowitz, and Haywood
- You Can't Do Me – Haywood
- The Scottsboro Boys – Scottsboro Boys
The show is performed without an intermission.
Recordings
An original cast recording was released by Jay Records on April 23, 2010, featuring the 2010 off-Broadway cast.Reception
The original off-Broadway production received mostly positive reviews, with The New York Posts Elisabeth Vincentellii calling the show "a masterwork, both daring and highly entertaining, and director/choreographer Susan Stroman has given it the best production possible at the intimate Vineyard Theatre. The book, score, and staging are so organically linked, you can't imagine one without the others." Steven Suskin of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
praised the cast.
Reviews for the Broadway production were mixed (the median grade of 28 major reviews was a "B+"). While the show received mostly positive reviews, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
called the show "a musical that slathers this terrible tale in a thick coat of musical-comedy frosting that has been spiked with cheap, elephantine irony. I can't imagine a nastier-tasting recipe."
The CurtainUps reviewer wrote, "While The Scottsboro Boys has made the leap from a small downtown theater to Broadway without a stumble, the tricky question as to whether it will clear the financial hurdle of having to sell more and higher priced tickets, has yet to be answered. For all the singing and dancing, this is not a cheerful story, nor does it have sexy ladies or a romantic element. But neither is it the overly familiar standard fare geared to the tourist trade."
Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
, reviewing for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote, "With Scottsboro it is as if the events on which it is based are still too raw and upsetting to be treated with too much panache. Though it features some high-kicking dancing from its personable and industrious ensemble, this production gives the impression of always treading carefully, with furrowed brow, stooped shoulders and an accusatory glare."
John McWhorter
John McWhorter
John Hamilton McWhorter V is an American linguist and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His linguistic specialty is creole and the process through which it forms.-Early life:...
of The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
panned the production, writing that "ideally, [this would be] a piece that grappled with the real story of the Scottsboro boys, a rich one driven by the conflicting impulses of desperate people with conflicting agendas. But the musical paints it in such broad strokes that it’s hard to engage with it on any substantial level." McWhorter concluded that "[i]f this thing were about Haymarket
Haymarket affair
The Haymarket affair was a demonstration and unrest that took place on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at the Haymarket Square in Chicago. It began as a rally in support of striking workers. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed the public meeting...
or Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
we’d never have heard of it. The only reason The Scottsboro Boys has made it to the Great White Way is the Great White Guilt
White guilt
White guilt refers to the concept of individual or collective guilt often said to be felt by some white people for the racist treatment of people of color by whites both historically and presently...
."
The score was generally well received by critics, with The Associated Press review saying, "Kander’s melodies are effortless, pouring out in a variety of styles from cakewalk to folk ballad to comic ditty. Ebb died in 2004, but here his clear, precise and often quite funny lyrics have been finished by Kander, and the transitions are seamless." McWhorter, however, disagreed, writing that "the Scottsboro score isn’t even much. One of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s least celebrated scores, Steel Pier
Steel Pier (musical)
Steel Pier is a musical written by the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb from the original book by David Thompson.-Productions:Directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman, it opened on Broadway on April 24, 1997 and closed on June 28, 1997, running for 76 performances...
, is Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
compared to this one. Time passes for show music writers: the Scottsboro score is perhaps analogous to Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
’s Aladdin or Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
’s The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes (musical)
The Red Shoes is a musical with a book by Marsha Norman, lyrics by Norman and Bob Merrill and music by Jule Styne...
. I would barely suspect Kander and Ebb had written this score if not told."
Controversy
On November 6, 2010, about thirty people gathered outside the Lyceum Theatre to protest The Scottsboro Boys, arguing that "that the use of minstrelsy and blackface were racist." Stroman said she was disappointed that the protesters, who "probably had not seen the musical," had "misunderstood that the creators were not celebrating the minstrel tradition but rather using it to reveal the evils of the system." Weissler said the minstrel show is "not meant to demean or degrade anybody," but rather that it "houses the story we’re trying to tell."Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
addressed these protests on The View, saying that "there's been a lot of protests all over New York against this show - a show that people have not seen. The people who are protesting this show, 90% of the people have not seen it . . . People are protesting saying that it shouldn't be in a minstrel show, this is too serious. What people don't understand is that you have to bring information to people in an most-invigorating way."
Original Off-Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | AUDELCO "Viv" Award AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by the late Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in New York African American Theatre through presentation of Vivan Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards... |
Outstanding Musical Production | ||
| Outstanding Male Performance in a Musical | Brandon Victor Dixon | |||
| Outstanding Director | Susan Stroman Susan Stroman Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:... |
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| Outstanding Choreography | ||||
| Broadway.com Audience Award | Favorite New Off-Broadway Musical | |||
| Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there... |
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| Outstanding Book of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee which comprises New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
David Thompson David Thompson (writer) David Thompson is an American writer and playwright. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.- Career :His theatre credits include And The World Goes 'Round , The Look of Love, Thou Shalt Not, Flora the Red Menace , Steel Pier , and the 1996... |
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| Outstanding Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Brandon Victor Dixon | |||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Susan Stroman Susan Stroman Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:... |
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| Outstanding Choreography Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography -1970s:* 1970: Ron Field – Applause** No nominees* 1971: Michael Bennett – Follies and Donald Saddler – No, No, Nanette** No nominees* 1972: Patricia Birch – Grease and Jean Erdman – Two Gentlemen of Verona... |
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| Outstanding Music Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
John Kander John Kander John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander... |
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| Outstanding Lyrics Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Fred Ebb Fred Ebb Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.... |
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| Outstanding Orchestrations Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Larry Hochman Larry Hochman Larry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon.... |
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| Outstanding Sound Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the sound designers of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters, all... |
Peter Hylenski | |||
| Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Musical | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actor | Brandon Victor Dixon | |||
| Outstanding Choreographer | Susan Stroman Susan Stroman Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:... |
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| Outer Critics Circle Award Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | |||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Brandon Victor Dixon | |||
| Outstanding New Score | John Kander John Kander John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander... and Fred Ebb Fred Ebb Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.... |
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| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Susan Stroman Susan Stroman Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:... |
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| Outstanding Choreographer | ||||
| Outstanding Lighting Design | Kevin Adams Kevin Adams For the NHL player, see Kevyn Adams.Kevin Adams is an American theatrical lighting designer. He has earned three Tony Awards for lighting design.-Biography:... |
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Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
David Thompson David Thompson (writer) David Thompson is an American writer and playwright. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.- Career :His theatre credits include And The World Goes 'Round , The Look of Love, Thou Shalt Not, Flora the Red Menace , Steel Pier , and the 1996... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival... |
Joshua Henry Joshua Henry Joshua Anthony Charlton Henry is an African-American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for portraying Haywood Patterson in Kander and Ebb's 2010 musical The Scottsboro Boys, for which he received a Tony Award nomination... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947... |
Forrest McClendon Forrest McClendon Forrest McClendon is an American stage actor, singer and professor. McClendon received a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical nomination in 2011 for his portrayal of Mr. Tambo in the Broadway musical, The Scottsboro Boys... |
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| Colman Domingo Colman Domingo Colman Domingo is an American actor, playwright and director.Domingo graduated from Temple University where he majored in journalism... |
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| Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions... |
Susan Stroman Susan Stroman Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:... |
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| Best Choreography Tony Award for Best Choreography -1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls... |
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| Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics... |
John Kander John Kander John Harold Kander is the American composer of a number of musicals as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb.-Life and career:Kander was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernice and Harold S. Kander... and Fred Ebb Fred Ebb Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.... |
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| Best Orchestrations Tony Award for Best Orchestrations -1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King... |
Larry Hochman Larry Hochman Larry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon.... |
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| Best Scenic Design | Beowulf Boritt | |||
| Best Lighting Design Tony Award for Best Lighting Design This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play... |
Ken Billington Ken Billington Ken Billington is an American lighting designer. He began his career in New York City working as an assistant to Tharon Musser.... |
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| Best Sound Design Tony Award for Best Sound Design The first Tony Award for "Best Sound Design of a Play" and "Best Sound Design of a Musical" was given in the 2007-2008 season.-2000s:*2008: Mic Pool – The 39 Steps**Simon Baker – Boeing-Boeing**Adam Cork – Macbeth... |
Peter Hylenski | |||