Advertisement
Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
This time, the boys get a break
Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (3rd review)
Steve Cohen
The Scottsboro Boys tells a true story of racism through the device of a minstrel show, a discredited and racially charged form of entertainment that's now a thing of the past. The creators of this show seem to want to show how the behavior we see here is a thing of the past as well.
This show had a brief Broadway run in 2010 and deserves more exposure. This is its first production since then.
The production stars nine black performers, ostensibly part of a minstrel show, who re-enact the true story and play many parts, whites as well as blacks. Their foil is The Interlocutor, the traditional emcee of minstrel shows, who repeatedly tries to get the "boys" to behave his way and "sit down." The veteran white actor Ron Holgate plays this role as a befuddled relic of Southern attitude.
The 1930s Southerners in this show are portrayed as nasty racists who expect blacks to be servile and grateful. Time and again, the "white" cops in The Scottsboro Boys condescendingly instruct the black prisoners to look happy.
Smug liberals
Liberals from the North are also held up for ridicule. When the attorney Samuel Leibowitz comes to Alabama to defend the boys, he is shocked to see "colored only" signs and naively sings that it's a far cry from New York. As I pointed out when I reviewed the Broadway production, Alabama's perversion of justice enabled liberals from other parts of the nation to feel smug and superior. But Leibowitz, who worked for years without pay and eventually got most of the boys released, deserves something better from posterity.
John Kander and Fred Ebb, working together for the last time, set the tragic story to satirically happy period music. The songs are catchy while the lyrics are biting. The Scottsboro Boys resembles their hit Chicago in its focus on miscarriages of justice, but with much more muscle.
Jewish lawyers, Jewish composers
Six members of the New York cast repeat their roles in Philadelphia. Forrest McClendon in particular has deepened and sharpened his portrayal of Leibowitz. McClendon, who is black, is demonized by the Alabama prosecutors as "the Jew" who bribed witnesses with his "Jew money." It must have been painful for Kander and Ebb, both Jewish, to create this testament.
It is hard to pick one song over another, but "Go Back Home" is an especially beautiful, aching ballad. The Scottsboro Boys is a wonderful musical— not a history lesson— and it shouldn't be missed.♦
To read another review by Marshall Ledger, click here.
To read another review by Jackie Atkins, click here.
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
To read another review by Jonathan M. Stein, click here.
This show had a brief Broadway run in 2010 and deserves more exposure. This is its first production since then.
The production stars nine black performers, ostensibly part of a minstrel show, who re-enact the true story and play many parts, whites as well as blacks. Their foil is The Interlocutor, the traditional emcee of minstrel shows, who repeatedly tries to get the "boys" to behave his way and "sit down." The veteran white actor Ron Holgate plays this role as a befuddled relic of Southern attitude.
The 1930s Southerners in this show are portrayed as nasty racists who expect blacks to be servile and grateful. Time and again, the "white" cops in The Scottsboro Boys condescendingly instruct the black prisoners to look happy.
Smug liberals
Liberals from the North are also held up for ridicule. When the attorney Samuel Leibowitz comes to Alabama to defend the boys, he is shocked to see "colored only" signs and naively sings that it's a far cry from New York. As I pointed out when I reviewed the Broadway production, Alabama's perversion of justice enabled liberals from other parts of the nation to feel smug and superior. But Leibowitz, who worked for years without pay and eventually got most of the boys released, deserves something better from posterity.
John Kander and Fred Ebb, working together for the last time, set the tragic story to satirically happy period music. The songs are catchy while the lyrics are biting. The Scottsboro Boys resembles their hit Chicago in its focus on miscarriages of justice, but with much more muscle.
Jewish lawyers, Jewish composers
Six members of the New York cast repeat their roles in Philadelphia. Forrest McClendon in particular has deepened and sharpened his portrayal of Leibowitz. McClendon, who is black, is demonized by the Alabama prosecutors as "the Jew" who bribed witnesses with his "Jew money." It must have been painful for Kander and Ebb, both Jewish, to create this testament.
It is hard to pick one song over another, but "Go Back Home" is an especially beautiful, aching ballad. The Scottsboro Boys is a wonderful musical— not a history lesson— and it shouldn't be missed.♦
To read another review by Marshall Ledger, click here.
To read another review by Jackie Atkins, click here.
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
To read another review by Jonathan M. Stein, click here.
What, When, Where
The Scottsboro Boys. Music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb; book by David Thompson; Susan Stroman’s original direction and choreography recreated by Jeff Whiting. Philadelphia Theatre Company production through February 19, 2012 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. (at Lombard). (215) 985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
