Photo Flash: SCOTTSBORO BOYS Celebrates Opening Night at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre presents the DC premiere of The Scottsboro Boys directed by Signature Theatre's Director of New Works Joe Calarco and choreographed by Jared Grimes.

John Kander and Fred Ebb's final musical collaboration premiered on Broadway in 2010 and was heralded as "an absolute marvel" by The Associated Press. The Scottsboro Boys is centered around nine young African-American teenagers who were ripped off a train in 1931, falsely accused of a crime, hastily tried and sentenced to death in an outrageous disregard of due process. The Scottsboro Boys runs from May 22 - July 1 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre.

"The story of the Scottsboro Boys is one that too few people know, and the horrific injustices they endured have been repeated over and over again in this country," said director Joe Calarco. "Like Cabaret and Chicago before it, Kander and Ebb attack a social issue head on while also managing to be wildly, breathtakingly, theatrical. I couldn't be more eager to tell this story with this extraordinary cast and creative team. It's a story that must be told and must be heard so that maybe one day this country will stop repeating it."

The production's ensemble cast includes Jonathan Adriel (Signature's Dreamgirls) as Andy Wright, Malik Akil (Broadway's Holiday Inn) as Charles Weems/Victoria Price, Christopher Bloch (Signature's Titanic) as The Interlocutor, Chaz Alexander Coffin (Arizona Broadway Theatre's HAIR) as Mr. Tambo, Felicia Curry (Signature's Les Misérables) as The Lady, C.K. Edwards (Broadway's Shuffle Along) as Roy Wright, DeWitt Fleming, Jr. (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam) as Ozie Powell/Ruby Bates, Andre Hinds(Signature's Crazy for You) as Willie Roberson, Darrell Wayne Purcell as Clarence Norris, Aramie Payton (Flashdance The Musical National Tour) as Eugene Williams, Lamont Walker II (Pittsburgh CLO's Aida) as Haywood Paterson, Joseph Monroe Webb(Signature's Jelly's Last Jam) as Olen Montgomery, and Stephen Scott Wormley(Signature's Jelly's Last Jam) as Mr. Bones.

The creative team includes Musical Direction by Brian P. Whitted (Broadway's Shuffle Along), Dramaturgy by Sybil R. Williams (Signature's U.G.L.Y.), Scenic Design by Daniel Conway (Signature's Jelly's Last Jam), Lighting Design by Sherice Mojgani (Arena Stage's Two Trains Running), Costume Design by Tony nominee Emilio Sosa (Broadway's The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess), Sound Design by Ryan Hickey (Signature's Titanic), Fight Choreography by Casey Kaleba (Signature's Jesus Christ Superstar), Dialect Coach Kim James Bey (Woolly Mammoth's An Octoroon), Production Stage Manager Kerry Epstein, Assistant Stage Manager Allie Roy, Production Assistant Joey Blakely.

www.sigtheatre.org

Photo Credit: Cameron Whitman