The Scottsboro Boys

 I've just come up with a new final exam for a musical theatre class.  Here it is:  Pitch this idea to a producer and try to get them to put it on - -  The story of 9 black boys accused of raping two white women on a railroad car in the south in 1931 presented as a musical minstrel show with the boys all being actually black with the show's white narrator telling the story to the audience while intermittently playing a character throughout throughout the entire performance.  Good luck with that one, right?!


Well this is exactly what Kandor and Ebb set out to do and despite the death of Fred Ebb before the work was completed, it has finally been given its world primere in New York City at the Vineyard Theatre. Despite the awkward premise, the show works.   It instantly feels both entertaining and uncomfortable at the same time.  It's supposed to feel that way - but never lets you get stuck being uncomfortable for too long.  Memorable numbers, inspiring ballads, rousing show numbers and talent crawling all over the stage make for an invigorating and educational night of theatre.   Stand out performances by all the boys and most of all John Cullum as the interlocutor.

This one is likely to transfer to Broadway.  The stage at the Vineyard is small - probably too small, but Susan Stroman worked her magic nonetheless.  On a larger Broadway stage, this one has great potential.   I'm not sure it will have a long lasting run, but it will certainly make a substantial contribution to the live theatre experience and enrich its audiences substantially while there.

Passing Strange

The latest resident at the Belasco Theater is unabashedly an un-broadway un-musical; Passing Strange: A New Musical. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, at first glance. Part rock concert, part rock opera, part comedy, part drama, part performance art, Passing Strange, however, uniquely crafts all those elements into one thoroughly entertaining theatrical experience.

It's the semi-autobiographical experience of the star and creator of the show, Stew. He's the narrator, the rock-band leader, and the storyline itself. In just under 2 1/2 hours, we follow one man's journey growing up black in LA, his escape to Europe, searching and struggling for who he is and what skin he is comfortable living in. It's about the parent child relationship - and the lessons we often learn too late in life. It's about searching for the elusive "real". It's about art and life and where the two diverge... and where they collide.
The cast is a bubbling cauldron of young, hot talent (and by hot, i mean smokin' hot!) - Daniel Breaker (the young Stew), De'Adre Aziza, Eisa Davis (Mother), Colman Domingo, Rebecca Naomi Jones and last but certainly not least, Chad Goodridge (when i say smokin' hot - I mean Chad please step to the front of the class!).

Stew narrates the show from center stage all the while playing his guitar, leading the surrounding band strategically placed on stage with him which includes musical co-creator Heidi Rodenwald.

There are no elaborate sets or scenery - unless you count the visually stunning Tony Award deserving wall of lights - which is unveiled as the young man lands in Europe where he begins his journey stumbling into love, sex, drugs, art, family, and plenty of music along the way.

Stew takes us on a journey unlike any other yet seen on Broadway. Hair may have been the original ground breaking musical, Rent and Spring Awakening did indeed take their place in the evolution of the American musical, and now Passing Strange is here now and is ready to sweep us up on a magical journey.

Don't miss the bus!