Stroman Directs New Kander & Ebb Musical Scottsboro Boys in NYC Reading; Cullum, Domingo Featured

By Ernio Hernandez
24 Jun 2009

John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon and Colman Domingo
John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon and Colman Domingo
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon and Colman Domingo will star in an invitation-only reading of John Kander and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys at The Vineyard Theatre. Susan Stroman directs and choreographs.

Featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman) and a book by David Thompson, the musical will be presented June 26 at 3 PM. Musical direction is by David Loud.

Billed as a "new musical," the work was one of the final collaborations from the famed songwriting team before Ebb's death. The Scottsboro Boys, according to an announcement, "explores the famous 'Scottsboro" case of the 1930's — in which a group of young African American teenagers were unjustly accused of attacking two women — and their attempt to prove their innocence."

It reunites Stroman (The Producers), Kander, Thompson and the Vineyard which previously presented the revival of Flora, The Red Menace. The work is being developed for the Vineyard's 2010 season.

Cullum (Urinetown), Dixon (The Color Purple) and Domingo (Passing Strange) lead a reading cast that also includes Josh Breckenridge, Jared Grimes, Malik Hammond, Jared Joseph, James Lane, JC Montgomery, Brenda Pressley, Christian White, and Dashaun Young.

The new Vineyard season will launch with the Off-Broadway premiere of Colman Domingo's A Boy and His Soul (starting Sept. 9) and continue with Adam Rapp's The Metal Children in winter. The troupe will then team with Playwrights Horizons to present the new musical The Burnt Part Boys. The work, penned by Mariana Elder, Nathan Tysen and Chris Miller, will be staged at the latter company's Off-Broadway home.

The Vineyard Theatre is located at 108 East 15th Street. For more information, call 212-353-0303 or visit VineyardTheatre.org