John Cullum Set for Kander & Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys; Complete Cast Announced

Two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum will be among the 13-member cast of Susan Stroman’s world premiere production of The Scottsboro Boys, a new musical with a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb and a book by David Thompson. The show will begin previews at the Vineyard Theatre on February 12, 2010, prior to its official opening night on March 10.

In addition to Cullum (a Tony winner for On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah and nominee for 110 in the Shade, Urinetown and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever), the cast of The Scottsboro Boys will include Colman Domingo (Passing Strange, A Boy and His Soul), Brandon Victor Dixon (a Tony nominee for The Color Purple), Sean Bradford (The Lion King), Josh Breckenridge (The Ritz), Derrick Cobey (Tin Pan Alley Rag), Rodney Hicks (Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar), Kendrick Jones, Forrest McClendon, Julius Thomas III, Sharon Washington, Cody Ryan Wise (Damn Yankees) and Christian White (The Wiz).

The Scottsboro Boys explores the infamous "Scottsboro" case of the 1930s, in which a group of African-American teenagers were unjustly accused of attacking two white women, and the boys' attempts to prove their innocence. The show is described as a stirring and provocative new work depicting one of the most important and notorious chapters in the history of the American Civil Rights movement.

Also announced is the creative team for the musical, which will have set design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Kevin Adams and sound design by Peter Hylenski. David Loud is music director, with orchestrations are by Larry Hochman.