Philadelphia Theatre Company will host several special events featuring expert writers, historians, playwrights, judges and members of the media in connection with its production of the hit Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys, running January 20-February 19 at PTC’s home at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). These pre- and post-performance conversations will further illuminate the historical issues and contemporary concerns explored in the musical. Admission to all community conversations is free. For detailed information on these outreach programs and tickets to The Scottsboro Boys, visit PTC’s wedsite at philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.
About the show: From the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb (Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman), The Scottsboro Boys is a stirring musical that explores the infamous 1930's 'Scottsboro Case' in which a group of African-American teenagers are falsely accused of a terrible crime, ultimately provoking a national outrage that laid the groundwork for the American Civil Rights Movement. The Scottsboro Boys is the definition of inspired American musical theater with a gorgeous and melodic score and rousing choreography.
On Sunday, January 22, Criminal defense attorney, activist and host of WURD’s Radio Courtroom Michael Coard will moderate a community conversation about how race plays a role in the criminal justice system. Panelists include and Marc Lamont Hill from Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American Studies and author of The Classroom and the Cell; award-winning playwright Charles Fuller, author of A Soldier’s Play; and Valerie Harrison, Assistant Counsel for Temple University. This event is sponsored by WURD-AM and will be broadcast live from the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
On Sunday, January 29, PTC will present American Playwrights in Context (APIC) featuring the creators of The Scottsboro Boys. In a rare public conversation together, composer John Kander, book writer David Thompson, and director/choreographer Susan Stroman will discuss their eight-year development of The Scottsboro Boys and their long-time collaboration over three musicals - Steel Pier, the revival of Flora the Red Menace, and And the World Goes ‘Round. The discussion will be moderated by Peter Filichia, theater critic for the Newark Star-Ledger.
On Saturday, February 4, PTC will host Special Topics: Crime in the Musical Theatre Tradition, a look at the work’s particularly unique place in the American musical canon, and why crime provides an endless fascination and provocation for musical writers, especially in the legacy of Kander & Ebb. Moderated by Charlie Gilbert, Director of the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts, the panel will include John Kenrick, author of Musical Theatre: A History and Mike Cohen, Director of Programming at the New York Musical Festival.
On Wednesday, February 15, the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Pennsylvania Capital Representation Project will co-sponsor a two-credit Continuing Legal Education program featuring an in-depth look at the Scottsboro Case and the politics of injustice. Panelists will include Dan Carter, the southern historian and author of Scottsboro: Tragedy of the American South, the most t definitive account of the case; Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy, author of Race, Crime, and the Law; a Pennsylvania exoneree; and David Rudovsky and Gordon Cooney, Philadelphia lawyers who have obtained the exoneration and release of wrongfully incarcerated defendants. In addition, the Honorable Louis H. Pollak will discuss the role played in this case by his father, Walter Pollak, a distinguished constitutional advocate, who argued the landmark Powell v. Alabama (requiring states to provide indigent defendant with court-appointed counsel when necessary to a fair trial).
Previews for The Scottsboro Boys begin Friday, January 20 with Opening Night on Wednesday, January 25. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until February 19. Tickets starting at $25 are available by calling the PTC Box Office at 215-985-0420 or visiting PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org. Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Suzanne Roberts Theatre is located at Broad and Lombard Streets.
Founded in 1974, Philadelphia Theatre Company is a leading regional theater company whose mission is to produce, develop and present entertaining and imaginative contemporary theater focused on the American experience that both ignites the intellect and touches the soul. By developing new work through commissions, readings and workshops PTC generates projects that have a national impact and reach broad regional audiences. Under the leadership of PTC’s Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik since 1982 and Managing Director Shira Beckerman, new to the company as of August 2011, PTC supports the work of a growing body of diverse dramatists and takes pride in being a home to many nationally recognized artists who have participated in more than 140 world and Philadelphia premieres. PTC has received 46 Barrymore Awards and 159 nominations. In October 2007, PTC moved into a home of its own, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre on Center City Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts, solidifying the Company’s status as a major player on the American theater scene.
