Will The Scottsboro Boys perform at the TONYS?

The Scottsboro Boys, the last musical from the powerful songwriting team Kander and Ebb, came-and-went on Broadway. But six days ago what seemed like the impossible happened; The Tony Nominating committee blessed the short-live musical with twelve Tony Award Nominations including Best Musical! It gained the second-most nominations to The Book of Mormon’s fourteen Nods and made history by recieving the most Tony nominations for a closed show. [2011 Tony Award Nominees »]

As it’s sung in the uplifting number in the show, “Second chance. Thank you, lord. Shout! Let It Be Celebrated … Lord, We Gonna Get Another Try!” And they certainly did get another try. It was confirmed two days later that The Scottsboro Boys will have major sit-downs across the country (starting in California, details below). But the question on my mind is will they perform at this year’s Tony Ceremony. In years past, some nominated-closed shows have performed, like last year when Christiane Noll performed a snippet from the revival of Ragtime, that lasted only sixty-five performances.

Seeing the show twice on Broadway including the memorable closing night, felt like a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity for me. Never had I seen a more powerful show or talented cast that were so well-directed. I hope that other people get to explore this important musical, and a performance on the Tony Awards would make that possible. And get people excited about seeing it across the country or across the pond. I’m hoping that the rumor of a Tony performance comes true and either the entire company or Tony Nominee Joshua Henry get to perform. When I was leaving the theatre on the final night of the show, I turned to my friend and said, “This show will never be done again with this incredible cast. This is very special!” There were many cast changes to get to that perfect company and to imagine them reuniting seems unlikely. Several of them are even working now. However I would love to see them perform “Shout!” from the show and I’m excited to see what the producers announce in the coming days. Make sure to watch the Tony Awards LIVE on CBS, June 12 at 8/7c.

The Scottsboro Boys is set to play San Deigo in 2012 at The Old Globe Theatre, April 22-June 3 and San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater, June 29-July 15. 

Entertain the Truth. ScottsboroMusical.com