Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death.

[2] The previous record for nominations without a win was eleven, held by Steel Pier and the original production of Chicago, both also by Kander and Ebb.

In 1931, Haywood Patterson, one of the nine boys riding in a boxcar on a train to Memphis, is ready to see the world ("Commencing in Chattanooga").

But, upon cross-examination, the Southern District Attorney makes antisemitic claims that Ruby Bates' change of heart was purchased by Leibowitz ("Financial Advice").

While the boys sit in a holding cell, waiting for the verdict, they talk about what they will do when the trial is over, believing that they can't be found guilty of crime that never happened.

Even the other girl, Victoria Price, begins to buckle ("Alabama Ladies (Reprise)"), tired of being dragged to repeated trials, but she never recants her testimony.

The boys appear dressed in full-blown Minstrel attire and blackface, alternating between a high-energy closing number and solemnly relating how their experiences in prison left them unable to leave normal lives, leading to careers of unemployment, addiction, suicide and tragedy.

Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, the original cast included John Cullum, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Colman Domingo.

[7][8][9] The creative team included sets by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Toni-Leslie James, and lighting by Kevin Adams.

The musical opened at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota, starting July 31, 2010 and officially August 6 through September 25, with Susan Stroman as director and choreographer.

[20] After an extended and remounted run, it won the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Production, Midsize, Small or Fringe Theater.

[2] The Hartford Courant A producer of the Broadway production, Catherine Schreiber, brought The Scottsboro Boys to The Young Vic in London.

The cast starred Brandon Victor Dixon as Haywood Patterson and featured Colman Domingo as Mr. Bones, Forrest McClendon as Mr. Tambo, James T. Lane as Ozie Powell and Julian Glover as the Interlocutor, with Music Supervision from Paul Masse.

[31] The New York Post's Elisabeth Vincentelli referred to it as "a masterwork, both daring and highly entertaining... Director/choreographer Susan Stroman has given it the best production possible at the intimate Vineyard Theatre.

"[37] The CurtainUp's reviewer wrote, "While The Scottsboro Boys has made the leap from a small downtown theater to Broadway without a stumble, the tricky question as to whether it will clear the financial hurdle of having to sell more and higher priced tickets, has yet to be answered.

"[38] Ben Brantley, reviewing for The New York Times wrote, "With Scottsboro it is as if the events on which it is based are still too raw and upsetting to be treated with too much panache.

Though it features some high-kicking dancing from its personable and industrious ensemble, this production gives the impression of always treading carefully, with furrowed brow, stooped shoulders and an accusatory glare.

"[40] The score was generally well received by critics, with The Associated Press review saying, "Kander’s melodies are effortless, pouring out in a variety of styles from cakewalk to folk ballad to comic ditty.

One of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s least celebrated scores, Steel Pier, is Porgy and Bess compared to this one.

Time passes for show music writers: the Scottsboro score is perhaps analogous to Cole Porter’s Aladdin or Jule Styne’s The Red Shoes.

"[40] On November 6, 2010, about thirty people gathered outside the Lyceum Theatre to protest The Scottsboro Boys, arguing that "the use of minstrelsy and blackface were racist.

"[42] Stroman said she was disappointed that the protesters, who "probably had not seen the musical," had "misunderstood that the creators were not celebrating the minstrel tradition but rather using it to reveal the evils of the system."