I'm really excited about this show. Scottsboro Boys is a new musical written by Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret) and directed by Tony winner Susan Stroman, based on the true story of nine black teenagers wrongly accused of rape in the 1930s. It's been playing Off-Broadway (fun fact - the difference between Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway is in the size of the theater: Broadway is 500+ seats, Off-Broadway is 100-499 seats, and Off-Off-Broadway is less than 100 seats) and will soon move to Broadway. But first, it's making a stop in at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where they will tweak the show in preparation for the Broadway debut. I love being able to see a Broadway show before it hits Broadway, with the original cast. The last such show I saw was The Lion King, which premiered at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis in 1997 before heading to Broadway, where it is still running. Scottsboro Boys is not quite The Lion King; it tackles some pretty heavy issues, and I love when musical theater does that.
Check out this this StarTribune article for more information, and the Guthrie website for ticket info.
Update: check out this interview with composer John Kander, who's still creating ground-breaking musical theater at the age of 83.
Also check out this sneak preview of the show. (And if you stay for the very end you'll here the tones used to call the audience at the Guthrie, a sound that never fails to put a smile on my face. :)
theatrical musings in Minnesota and beyond