SpeakEasy Stage Company's Artistic Director, Paul Daigneault, has done it again. He has led his talented crew of creative talent and actors through a minefield of potential hazards in staging the complicated and controversial musical "The Scottsboro Boys," and they have emerged without a scratch. The only explosions detonated during this journey are those that explode in the minds and hearts of audience members who are gripped by the unspeakable tragedy of the true story unfolding on the stage.
In the 1930s, nine Negro men riding the rails on the Southern Railway Line were falsely accused of raping two white women when their train was stopped in Scottsboro, Alabama after a fight was reported. In order to save themselves from being arrested, the two women claimed that they had been assaulted by the nine men. A kangaroo court trial led to their conviction and sentencing to death by electric chair. Many appeals and re-trials followed, and the men languished for many years in Alabama jail cells. Eventually, four of the men were released - all to suffer early death or disappearance - and the others remained behind to live out their stolen lives behind bars. Nine lives were wasted at the hands of a system of racial injustice and intimidation.
The talented writing team of John Kander & Fred Ebb ("Chicago," Cabaret," et al.) tackled the telling of this tawdry tale in a most creative fashion. They chose to frame the telling of this story of the humiliation of black men in the form of a minstrel show - an art form that traditionally demeaned black folks through caricature and black face. It was a bold move that initially met with controversy and criticism, but the sardonic and ironic wit of these two artists carried the day. For as audience members cringe at the stereotypes and the stock characters, we are forced to look at the underlying racism and injustice that the story of the Scottsboro Boys elucidates in a such harsh light.
Standing on the shoulders of original direction and choreography by Susan Stroman, Mr. Daigneault and Choreographer Ilyse Robbins utilize almost constant motion to set a frenetic pace for the show in keeping with the fast pace of a minstrel show. Music Direction by Matthew Stern lays the foundation for traditional Ragtime, Gospel, and Dixieland styles, as well as ironic ballads like "Southern Days." Scenic Design is by Eric Levenson, Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo, Lighting Design by Daisy Long, Sound Design by David Remedios.
The minstrel show is emceed by the only white actor on the stage, The Interlocutor (An excellent Russell Garrett). This character is part Kentucky Colonel, part ringmaster, part plantation owner. He has the nine Scottsboro Boys complacently going through their paces in telling their story through song, dance and narrative, helped out by two stock characters, Mr. Tambo (Brandon G. Green) and Mr. Bones (Maurice Emmanuel Parent). As needed, these two outstanding actors play additional roles - Sheriff, Lawyer, Guard, etc. They, along with the Interlocutor, are at the core of the minstrel show structure around which the tale of the years of injustice and incarceration are portrayed. The Interlocutor often commands the nine Scottsboro Boys to sit, and they comply in an almost Pavlovian way - until a tipping point is reached near the end of the play. At that point, they push back, refuse to sit, and change the lyrics of the traditional Southern ballad to reflect the realities of Black life in Alabama, including lines like "Daddy hangin' from a tree" and "Crosses burning in the sky."
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Brandon G. Green as Mr. Tambo
Maurice Emmanuel Parent as Mr. Bones
"The Scottsboro Boys"
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Through November 26th
Photo by Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
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Each of the actors portraying the nine Scottsboro Boys creates a clearly individuated character. They are all effective and engaging. The one who gets the most songs and time in the spotlight is Haywood Patterson (De'Lon Grant), who kept a notebook chronicling their experiences over many years of trials and incarceration. After he died in jail, his notebook became the basis for the telling of his story and those of his co-defendants. Mr. Grant's sonorous voice soars in songs like "Nothin'," "Make Friends With The Truth," and "You Can't Do Me."
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Wakeem Jones as Eugene Williams
De'Lon Grant as Haywood Patterson
"The Scottsboro Boys"
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Through November 26th
Photo by Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
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Two of the Scottsboro Boys also portray the roles of the white women who had claimed to be raped. Isaiah Reynolds is moving as Ruby Bates, who eventually recants her testimony against the men - to no avail. His rendition of the song "Never Too Late" is a highlight. Darrell Morris, Jr. is impressive as Victoria Price, the accuser who hangs on to her trumped up charges over many years and many trials.
The other Scottsboro boys are:
- Darren Bunch as Andy Wright
- Taavon Gamble as Willie Roberson
- Sheldon Henry as Roy Wright
- Wakeem Jones as Eugene Williams, the youngest of the nine prisoners who was 12 years old when arrested
- Steven Martin as Olen Montgomery
- Aaron Michael Ray as Clarence Norris
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| Cast "The Scottsboro Boys" SpeakEasy Stage Company Calderwood Pavilion Boston Center for the Arts Through November 26th Photo by Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots |
This is a MUST SEE show. This is a story that must be told. These black lives from long ago still matter. As uncomfortable as is the truth of the injustices visited upon the Scottsboro Boys, Ferguson, Missouri, Staten Island, and other locales scream that these are also contemporary problems that must be acknowledged and addressed.
The run of the show at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts has been extended through November 26th by popular demand. Get your tickets now while they are still available.
Enjoy!
Al
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