Review Roundup: THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS

THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, the exhilarating new Kander & Ebb musical, opens Sunday, October 31 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is the final collaboration by musical theatre giants 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 musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history. This production is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and features a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival).

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: But the musical never really resolves the tension between its impulse to entertain us with hoary jokes and quivering tambourines and the desire to render the harsh morals of its story with earnest insistence. The occasional portentous sound of a single bass drumbeat is like a summons from recess back to the schoolroom. "The Scottsboro Boys" earns admiration for its stylistic daring and obvious ambition, but I'm not sure it's possible to honor the experience of the men it portrays while turning their suffering into a colorful sideshow.

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: In short, Scottsboro, which opened Sunday at the Lyceum Theatre, wears its social conscience and its political incorrectness on its sleeve. And while the result is thoughtful, vibrant entertainment, the earnestness and irreverence can seem self-conscious.

Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: what has emerged is an absolute marvel. 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.

Charles McNulty, LA Times: "The Scottsboro Boys" rises in pathos as the fate of the imprisoned men is revealed. Not everyone in the audience will be able to trust their teary emotion-is this another of the musical's subversive traps?-but it's one of the few times that the show seems to belong on Broadway.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: With its high-energy ensemble and dynamic direction and choreography, this darkly provocative musical makes a fitting swan song for the duo behind "Cabaret" and "Chicago."

Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal:  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.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: The show is stuffed with bravura, impassioned, individual performances that fuse into an inestimably powerful ensemble.

Scott Brown, NY Magazine: The Scottsboro Boys isn't a precision-guided social endoscopy: It's a single, stunning blow to the temple. And on its own discomfiting, blunt-force terms, it's utterly successful.

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: "Scottsboro Boys" isn't perfect, but it's worthwhile. It deserves credit for tackling a slice of history that needs to be known.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post: On the surface, "The Scottsboro Boys" is a hard sell in a Times Square dominated by escapist fluff. The show was slightly tweaked after its off-Broadway run in the spring -- to give the characters more back story and motivation -- but it hasn't been compromised, and remains grimly thought-provoking. Yet this is also a thrillingly inventive and entertaining night at the theater. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be moved. What could be more Broadway than that?

Robert Feldberg, NorthJersey.com: But for most of the evening, the adventurous show doesn't fit its parts together very well. It induces feelings of anger and frustration at what happened to the men, even as it encourages us to enjoy the entertainment they provide.

Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg News: The story is wrenching and the songs rank with Kander and Ebb's most gorgeous; "Southern Days" -- which starts out as a riff on "My Old Kentucky Home" and, with its lynching imagery, ends up echoing Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" -- still gives me nightmares.

Matt Windman, am New York: 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.

Linda Winer, Newsday: It's sharp and snappy, imaginative and heartfelt. It has a real American tragedy to tell and some of the best in the business to tell it.

 

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