The Scottsboro Boys to close on 12 Dec

The Broadway premiere of John Kander's and Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys closes at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on 12 Dec 2010. When the show closes it will have played 24 previews and 48 regular performances.

The Scottsboro Boys is the last collaboration of Broadway songwriting legends John Kander and Fred Ebb. The musical features a book by David Thompson and is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

"We've never believed more strongly and passionately in a show as we did with The Scottsboro Boys," commented producers Barry and Fran Weissler and Jacki Barlia Florin. "It's a show we felt we had to produce and we're proud and grateful to have brought this last great musical from Kander & Ebb to Broadway. We encourage anyone who loves challenging, provocative and original new musicals to see us in our final two weeks at the Lyceum."

The musical opened at the Lyceum Theatre on 31 Oct 2010, following previews from 7 Oct, and was selling tickets through to 27 Feb 2011.

The show opened to mixed, but mostly excellent reviews: There is more talent and class per cubic inch on this stage than on many of the other theatres combined. (newyorktheatreguide.com); Suffers from a problem of monotony (NY Times); Thrillingly inventive and entertaining" (NY Post); Sets a high bar for Broadway musicals this season (Back Stage).

The Scottsboro Boys stars John Cullum as 'Interlocutor,' Joshua Henry as 'Haywood Patterson,' Colman Domingo as 'Mr. Bones,' Forrest McClendon as 'Mr. Tambo,' Sharon Washington as 'The Lady,' Josh Breckenridge as 'Olen Montgomery,' Derrick Cobey as 'Andy Wright,' Jeremy Gumbs as 'Eugene Williams,' Rodney Hicks as 'Clarence Norris,' Kendrick Jones as 'Willie Roberson,' James T. Lane as 'Ozie Powell' and 'Ruby Bates,' Julius Thomas III as 'Roy Wright,' and Christian Dante White as 'Charles Weems' and 'Victoria Price.' The production also features E. Clayton Cornelious, JC Montgomery, Clinton Roane and Robin S. Walker.

The Scottsboro Boys 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.

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), came to Broadway following a sold-out run at the Vineyard Theatre.

The production 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.

The Scottsboro Boys had its world premiere earlier this year at the Vineyard Theatre. The show was further developed this summer in a critically acclaimed production at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where it played from 31 Jul through 25 Sep on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

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 A. Carr/Patricia R. Klausner, Nederlander Presentations Inc./The Shubert Organization Inc., Beechwood Entertainment, Broadway Across America, Mark Zimmerman, Joseph R. & Sandra Schneider, 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.