Music Theatre International (MTI) has released The Scottsboro Boys for licensing. The musical, with a book by David Thompson (Steel Pier), made its world premiere at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre before a Broadway run in 2012 that received 12 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. It is the final collaboration between the Cabaret and Chicago writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb; Ebb died in 2004.
The musical centers on the true story of nine black men who were falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931 Alabama. All nine were failed by a racist legal system, convicted in trials that presented no actual evidence against them.
The Broadway production was directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and featured a cast including Joshua Henry, Colman Domingo, Christian Dante White, Sharon Washington, and John Cullum.
The musical is set to be performed at the 90th annual International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska, by students from Kenosha, Wisconsin's Bradford High School. Stroman will be on hand to lead a discussion of the musical's history and impact in a panel following the performance.
“The trials of the Scottsboro Boys mark an important milestone in American history, as the case helped spur on the burgeoning civil rights movement," shares MTI President and CEO Drew Cohen. "It is an honor to represent this seminal work by Kander, Ebb and Thompson and we hope that theatres around the country—particularly school groups—use the musical to stimulate discussion and spread a message of hope and tolerance.”
For more information about licensing The Scottsboro Boys and other works, visit MTIShows.com.
