THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 12:21am

Today is Halloween Sunday, October 31, marking the official opening night performance of The Scottsboro Boys, the new Kander & Ebb musical at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre. Preview performances began October 7, having previously enjoyed stints at the Vineyard Theatre and the Guthrie. Now, finally making the trek to Broadway, I give my best to all involved!

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 12:41am

Can't wait to hear how the reviews come out. I hope it gets all the raves it deserves. Break legs, cast and crew!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 3:49am

Not that MY review is what you are looking for...but I saw Saturday's matinee and was truly blown away. A big wow from me and I hope the critics agree!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 4:28am

I saw today's matinee (30TH) and was pretty much blown away! Strange how I laughed really hard but then felt guilty about it. Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant!

[GatorNY]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:30am

YAY Mama...I'm so glad you gave it a big thumbs up. That's how I felt too.

[notabb]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 11:51am

God I love this show! I hope it does well.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 1:28pm

I'll be there tonight. Super excited!

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 2:35pm

ahh- best of luck to the cast! I did a double bill of this and BBAJ this weekend for my historical musical fulfillment. Love them both so much. Hope the choreography gets all the attention and love it deserves. But of course it will- it's Stroman!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 3:21pm

Katurian -- I did the same exact thing yesterday. Scottsboro matinee, Jackson evening!

[Katurian2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 3:37pm

haha- really? It was a fantastic day for sure! Two very different shows and times in history both with very unique perspectives on their subjects. It's probably the best double show day I've ever done just for the similarity of the two works, but the dramatic differences in their scores and presentations.

[Ariella]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 6:05pm

Ha. I did both BBAJ and Scottsboro yesterday too.

Scottsboro is such a powerful, beautifully staged show and I wish everyone involved the best. And it's terrifyingly subversive (hence your reaction, SNAFU) - you don't know whether to laugh or feel uncomfortable. Which is exactly their intention.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 6:38pm

A terrific show in pretty much every respect. I checked out Brantley's original very pissy little review of the original Off-Bway production, which bears no real resemblance to the show that I saw the other night. If the play had been written by Alan Bennett or Tom Stoppard he'd have been jizzing all over it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 7:06pm

It deserves every rave it should (and hopefully) will get

To Brantley all I have to say it "..... and the horse you rode in on".

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 7:37pm

USA Today three out of four stars.
USA Today

[morosco]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:56pm

ABC News
The creators — including director and choreographer Susan Stroman and book writer David Thompson — walk a fine line between satire and alienation, but emerge with what surely must be the edgiest play on Broadway.
The Scottsboro Boys' Is Powerful, Provocative

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:57pm

L.A.Times
Los Angeles Times

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:57pm

L.A.Times
Los Angeles Times

[morosco]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 8:59pm

L.A. Times
Kander & Ebb—that’s the legendary theatrical duo of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb—were innovators in what has become known as “the concept musical,” a form they expanded and energized with their two greatest shows, "Cabaret" and “Chicago.” Well, their final collaboration, completed several years after the death of Ebb in 2004, has turned out to be no less pioneering. In fact “The Scottsboro Boys,” which opened Sunday at the Lyceum Theatre, dares to do things that, sadly, shouldn’t be tried these days on Broadway.
The Scottsboro Boys at the Lyceum Theatre

[morosco]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:01pm

The Hollywood Reporter
In an age when institutional racism endures in more veiled forms, this bold musical keeps you tapping your feet while it socks you with an emotional punch to the gut. That's a tough combo for mainstream commercial acceptance, but it makes for arresting theater.
The Scottsboro Boys

[morosco]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:03pm

Wall Street Journal
Rarely have I been so irked by a Broadway show as I was by "The Scottsboro Boys," which has moved uptown after a much-praised Off-Broadway run. This musical, in which the story of a horrific miscarriage of racial justice is retold in the form of a Mr.-Bones-and-Mr.-Jones minstrel show, is one of the best-staged productions ever to come to Broadway. It is impossible not to be thrilled by the electrifying craftsmanship of Susan Stroman, the director and choreographer. The period pastiches of the John Kander-Fred Ebb score are cunningly wrought, and the ensemble cast, led by John Cullum and Joshua Henry, is as good as it could possibly be. (Mr. Henry, in particular, is surely destined for a Tony nomination.) The problem is that all this formidable talent has been enlisted in the service of a musical so smug that I could scarcely bear to sit and watch it.
A Perilous Page of History to Turn

[morosco]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:05pm

am New York
t’s difficult to imagine a more daring, disturbing or dangerous musical than “The Scottsboro Boys.” Or, for that matter, a more improbable commercial venture for Broadway.

That being said, this jarring mix of racist and anti-Semitic stereotypes, legal injustice and physical abuse with the Old South and song-and-dance entertainment is brilliant, subversive and ultimately heartbreaking.
The Scottsboro Boys' will be brilliant

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:08pm

The point of the WSJ review, which borders on offensive, seems to be that the show is smug because musicals about racism aren't necessary anymore since we've elected a black president.
Updated On: 10/31/10 at 09:08 PM

[wickedfan]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:19pm

Terry Teachout's the same man who gave a very positive review for Bye Bye Birdie and a rave for The Little Mermaid. If there was one critic (other than Charles Isherwood) who I would completely ignore, it would be him.

[singer73192]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:20pm

Really, what was the deal with that WSJ review? Obviously, it is okay not to like a show, but that was just so far off base.

[orlandog]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 9:39pm

I think he was trying to make a valid point,,,what's with all the hoopla in Scottsboro Boys? If you're going to tell this story, why muck it up,,,I think it would be so much better as a play.

"...It's interesting to note that the dialogue scenes showing the nine Scottsboro boys behind bars, which are played straight, pack a greater dramatic punch than any of the musical numbers. I had no trouble imagining a play by Mr. Thompson about the Scottsboro trials that could have introduced a new generation to one of the most troubling episodes in modern American history—but I doubt that any Broadway producer would have sunk a dime into it. In its place, then, we get 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.