Kander & Ebb Will Return to Broadway Oct. 7 With First Preview of Scottsboro; Opening Is Oct. 31

By Kenneth Jones
20 May 2010

The Scottsboro Boys stars Rodney Hicks, John Cullum and Brandon Victor Dixon, at the Vineyard Theatre.
The Scottsboro Boys stars Rodney Hicks, John Cullum and Brandon Victor Dixon, at the Vineyard Theatre.
Photo by Carol Rosegg

The producers of the new Kander & Ebb musical, The Scottsboro Boys, announced Halloween, Oct. 31, as the show's Broadway opening date at the Lyceum Theatre. Previews begin Oct. 7.

The Lyceum was previously announced as the destination for the musical inspired by an infamous case of American injustice in which young black men in the segregated South were accused of a crime they did not commit.

Using the theatrical frame of a minstrel show to satiric effect, The Scottsboro Boys, featuring a mostly African-American cast, has rousing music and stinging lyrics by the Tony Award-winning team of John Kander and Fred Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago), and a libretto by Tony Award nominee David Thompson (Steel Pier).

Direction and choreography is by five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact).

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. It has been nominated for nine 2010 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical (Susan Stroman), Outstanding Choreography (Susan Stroman), Outstanding Music (John Kander, Fred Ebb), Outstanding Lyrics (John Kander, Fred Ebb) and Outstanding Book (David Thompson) and also received a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Production of a Musical.

Here's how the producers characterize the musical: The Scottsboro Boys is based on the notorious 'Scottsboro' case in the 1930s, where nine African American men were unjustly accused of attacking two white women on a train in Alabama. The young men were convicted by an all-white jury and spent years in jail, while the case was tried and retried. In the tradition of their classic musicals Cabaret and Chicago, Kander and Ebb explore this dark chapter of American history in a daringly inventive and startling entertainment."

The musical had its world premiere earlier this year at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre. Casting for Broadway will be announced soon, but it's expected that most of the Off-Broadway cast will move forward with the show.

As previously announced, prior to Broadway, The Scottsboro Boys will play a limited engagement at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN, July 31-Sept. 25 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Set design is by Beowulf Borritt, costume design is by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design is by Kevin Adams 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 will be produced on Broadway by Barry and Fran Weissler, Jacki Barlia Florin and The Vineyard Theatre.

Tickets ($39.50-$131.50; premium $251.50) are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com.

Performances will be Tuesday through Sunday at 8 PM, with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM.

For more information, visit www.ScottsboroMusical.com.