West End Production of Kander and Ebb’s American Musical “The Scottsboro Boys” Opens to Rave Reviews
U.S. Press:
Rick Miramontez / Andy Snyder
rick@oandmco.com/ andy@oandmco.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
“THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS”
REDEEMED … IN LONDON
WEST END PRODUCTION
OF KANDER AND EBB’S
AMERICAN MUSICAL
OPENS TO RAVE REVIEWS
London (10/21/2014) – The Scottsboro Boys, directed by five-time Tony® Award winner Susan Stroman, opened last night in London’s West End at the Garrick Theatre to overwhelming critical praise, following a raved-about, sold-out UK premiere last year at the Young Vic.
The Scottsboro Boys tells the true story of nine young black men, aged between 12 and 19, travelling on a train through Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931 in search of a new life. By the end of their journey, their lives had been changed forever. Two white women falsely accused the nine of rape. Although one woman recanted, although the court treatment was a tragic miscarriage of justice, they were all convicted. Their subsequent trials and appeals, lasting seven years, deeply divided the nation.
When The Scottsboro Boys premiered on Broadway in 2010, it nabbed an incredible 12 Tony® Award nominations (including Best Musical and Best Director), but lackluster ticket sales forced produced to close the production before the Tony telecast.
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS
“Brave, brilliant and unmissable. I urge you to buy a ticket”
-Sam Marlowe, The Times of London (*****)
“A genuinely radical musical.
A brilliant cast and electrifying choreography”
-Lyn Gardner, The Guardian (****)
“Kander and Ebb’s masterstroke.
This beautifully performed show remains a triumph”
–Time Out London (****)
“This West End transfer of Kander and Ebb’s audacious musical is richly deserved.
The music is magnificent”
-Fiona Mountford, London Evening Standard (****)
“Rush to see this ingenious, pain-filled, feel-good show”
-Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph (****)
“Audacious. Elating and shocking. Finger-snapping. Toe-tapping. Tremendous”
–Financial Times (*****)
“Extraordinary and unforgettable”
–Metro (*****)
“Out of this world”
–The Observer (*****)
“A dazzlingly executed piece of showbusiness panache.
One of the most thrillingly performed shows in town”
-Mark Shenton, The Stage (*****)
“The best musical that will be seen in the West End this year.
An absolute stunner – and completely unmissable”
–London Theatre (*****)
“Fierce, bold and relentlessly entertaining”
–What’s On Stage (****)
“A musical like The Scottsboro Boys is worth a dozen Thrillers or Miss Saigons”
–Theatre Guide London
“The Scottsboro Boys hits the bull’s-eye”
–British Theatre Guide
“Susan Stroman is some kind of genius.
Kander and Ebb’s last show together delivers a decisive sucker punch”
–The Arts Desk
The cast of The Scottsboro Boys includes Joshua Da Costa, Brandon Victor Dixon, Colman Domingo, Julian Glover, Dawn Hope, Emmanuel Kojo, James T. Lane, Dex Lee, Forrest McClendon, Kennan Munn-Francis, Rohan Pinnock-Hamilton, Emile Ruddock, Carl Spencer, Richard Pitt, Jacade Simpson, Luke Wilson, Marcia Lecky, and Andrew McDonald.
The creative team for The Scottsboro Boys includes John Kander and Fred Ebb (Music and Lyrics), David Thompson (Book), Susan Stroman (Direction and Choreography), Beowulf Boritt (Set Design), Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design), Ken Billington (Lighting Design), and Paul Arditti (Sound Design).
The Scottsboro Boys is produced on the West End by Catherine Schreiber, Paula Marie Black, Young Vic, Bruno Wang, Michael and Gabrielle Palitz, Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, David Asper, Jill Manson, Probo Prods., Dominic Lindesay-Bethune for Theatre6, Joe Black, Eric Canal-Forgues, Deborah Hicks Midanek, Kathryn Phillips, Bard Theatricals, Sharon Carr, Patricia R. Klausner, Kate Cannova, and Ashley M. Desmone
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