Audio: Kander on the Significance of SCOTTSBORO BOYS

The Scottsboro Boys began preview performances this past weekend at the Guthrie Theater, kicking off an eight-week engagement through September 25. The critically-acclaimed production, directed by five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman and featuring a book by David Thompson and a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb, comes to the Guthrie following a sold-out Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theatre earlier this year. Immediately following its Guthrie run, the production will move to Broadway's Lyceum Theatre, where it will begin performances on October 7 in advance of its official October 31, 2010, opening.

The Scottsboro Boys is the thrilling final collaboration by musical theatre legends John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret). Based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime, this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history.

In the clip below, the show's mastermind, John Kander, discusses the impact the case of the Scottsboro Boys had on his life, and why the story still resonates today, decades later.

The Scottsboro Boys began preview performances in Minneapolis on July 31. The production opens August 6 and continues through September 25, 2010, on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Single tickets start at $29 and are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org.