Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys is known as a minstrel show. A minstrel show consists of comic relief, a variety of acting, dancing and music by white people in blackface or black people in blackface. This particular show consisted of black people in blackface. However, minstrel shows portray black people as dim-witted, lazy, and careless. The nine Scottsboro boys were accused in Alabama for raping two white women on a train in the 1930s. The landmark of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism, the right to a fair trial, and miscarriage of justice. The cases included an angry murder crowd before the suspects were charged, an entrapment, a completely white jury, and rushed trials. Throughout these trials, the boys received very poor legal representation, and even though there was medical evidence to suggest that they had not committed the crime, eight of the boys were convicted. The youngest, Eugene was given a new trial because he was a juvenile. The other boys were held in Kirby Prison, having their case appealed twice to the United States Supreme Court. During the return of the case to the lower court, one of the girls, Ruby admitted to fabricating the rape accusations and explained that none of the Scottsboro boys touched her or her friend, Victoria. The jury still managed to find the defendants guilty. Another trial, with one black member within the jury, freed four more of the Scottsboro boys. Of those who remained in prison, one was shot by a prison guard, two escaped and later charged with something else and sent back to prison; one was sentenced to death, but “jumped parole” and went into hiding.
The musical begins with a woman waiting for a bus. She is holding a box. The stage is black except for a spotlight on her. The light goes away and the Scottsboro Boys arrive. The song “Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey” begins. This song serves as an introduction of what the show is about. Racism is introduced in this song as well. In the song, it says, “Mr. Tambo, how are you feeling tonight? I’se fine. But I think that lady in the front row is shocked! Mr. Tambo, she’s just not used to seeing you in those clothes.” Mr. Tambo is dressed in a plaid suit with a hat on. This is implying that because he is black, he should not be wearing such nice clothing.
The next song is sung with the boy at the train station. “Commencing Chattanooga” describes the boys’ excitement to be traveling and working on the railroad. They are excited to get away from where they were from and get to see something new. “And if the Pennsylvania calls just say you want your money back. And if the New York Central’s on the phone, tell ‘em they’re way off track” implies they believe this is the best opportunity they are going to get. As the train is stopped, two white girls and accuse the boys of rape and the boys are sent to jail. “Alabama Ladies” is sung as the girls plot their scheme. The girls, Victoria and Ruby, talk about themselves as “Alabama ladies, loyal daughters of the solid south.” The song continues with Victoria and Ruby telling the police everything the boys did to them. Without a good lawyer, the song “Nothin” is about the boys going to jail. It was difficult for the boys since they “never did nothin’.” They become worked up over the fact that they did nothing wrong, yet they are still being punished for it. The boys are found guilty and sentenced to death. The youngest, Eugene, has a nightmare, “Electric Chair,” which is about him dying via electric chair. It goes into detail about what would happen when he was electrocuted, “your hair frizzles out and your eyes disappear.” This song was performed with tap dance. The tap dancing represents the sound of skin frying. During their wait for the electric chair, the boys begin to think about going home, the thing they want the absolute most. This is represented through the song, “Go Back Home.” A verse in the song says, “Walkin’ through the world, things happen right before ya eyes. Things happen, soon enough you’re lost and thinkin’ when I’m gonna go back home.” They begin to daydream about going home, “and I’d be home for my birthday, now that would be some present…but maybe times’ll turn. I pray so. Maybe someday I’ll get lucky. Someone’s gonna say, alright son, take the train and go back home.” Just as executions are about to begin, the verdict is overturned. The Supreme Court rules that the boys didn’t have an effective counsel. In a celebration for another trial, “Shout” is sung. This is a song of hope that they are not going to be sentenced to death. “When I thought I’d meet my maker, when they said, “you’re gonna fry!” God supplied a circuit breaker, giving me another try.”
However, a year later, they are still in prison. Haywood shares his story through singing “Make Friends With the Truth.” It talks about how Haywood would lie about small things when he was a child, and because of bad karma, really bad things would happen as a result of his lie. “Billy still denied it. He said, “it wasn’t me ‘cause I was out of town.” And the very next day Billy’s house burnt down.” It was his about his commitment to always telling the truth from that point on. The third trial uses Samuel Leibowitz to represent the boys in court. “That’s Not the Way We Do Things” is sang and portray Sam as someone who doesn’t see racism in New York. However, within the song, he claims to have a black chauffer, cook, and maid. He says, “So they’ve sent you down the very best, that’s right! They sent me!” During this trial, Ruby wants to admit that the boys are innocent and she lied about the entire situation by singing, “Never Too Late.”The Scottsboro boys and Ruby sing this song together. Ruby sings, “I had your guys incarcerated but I was never violated. And so you see, you’ve not committed a crime.” Unfortunately, the district attorney claims that Ruby changed her mind because she was paid by the defense. This is represented through “Financial Advice.” Ruby tries to explain to the General that she lied and Victoria talked her into it. Anti-Semitism is evident in this song, “there’s one solution, honey. Go get you some Jew money.”
While in the holding cell, the boys discuss with each other what they are going to do after they are all released. They do not believe that they will be convicted of a crime that never happened, especially since they believed that Ruby was going to tell the truth. “Southern Days” is sang to snap the boys back to reality and remind them that they essentially belong in the South. “Don’t you miss the taste of julep sippin’ as you while that day away? And in the kitchen mammy’s pullin’ pork, bakin’ ribs, shickin’ corn…And long to hurry back again to those lazy, lackadaisical, lovable southern days.” The beginning of the song describes how the white people believed the blacks lived during the slave days. The end of the song switches to how the blacks viewed their lives during the slave days by singing, “And in the kitchen mammy’s pullin’ pork, cookin’ grits, scrubbin’ ham. Tell the truth now. Don’t youmiss those honeysuckle days in Alabam? How the sights and sounds come back to me! Like my daddy hangin’ from a tree… Don’t you wish that we could just return to those languid and limpid and listless and indolent lovable southern days.” The boys are found guilty again and sent back to prison. Haywood tries to escape in order to see his mother before she dies and “Commencing in Chattanooga” is sang again. Haywood is quickly caught. Throughout every trial, the boys are found guilty. Victoria begins to buckle and “Alabama Ladies” is sung again. The four youngest boys were released, but the other five boys stayed in prison. Finally, Haywood is brought up for parole, but is told he must plead guilty. “It’s Gonna Take Time” is sung to try to convince Haywood to tell the jury that he’s guilty.”You know that way down deep inside, most people are good, but sometimes the terrible things that they say or they do can be terribly misunderstood. So give us time, Haywood and try to behave. Remember it hasn’t been so many years since your granddad was only a slave.” Haywood tells the truth that he did not commit the crime. He is sent back to prison anyway and “ZatSo” and “Can’t Do Me” is sung. In “ZatSo,” the Governor says to Haywood, “You people sometimes don’t understand what you’ve been asked. It’s because you don’t listen. So let’s try this again. You now admit you committed this rape which you’ve been denying all along. Zat so?” Haywood’s response, “wrong” angers the governor and he tells Haywood that he was going back to jail for a very long time. Haywood’s response to that is performed through “You Can’t Do Me.” Haywood sings, “You can’t do me like you done me, like you did me before. Do not poke me or provoke me. I ain’tgonna take it anymore. I won’t stand still, my hand in my pockets. What was a whisper is now a roar…” Haywood died in prison twenty-one years later. As the show ends, the Interlocutor calls for the finale, but the boys are reluctant. “The Scottsboro Boys” is sung. This song describes what happened to each of the boys after prison. We find out that Haywood wrote the truth in a book. The very last scene in the show was when the lady from the bus stop in the beginning is sitting on the bus. The white bus driver says to her, “Lady, you can’t sit there. Move to the back of the bus. Colored in the back of the bus. Move to the back.” Her response was, “No. Not no more. I’m gonna sit here and rest my feet.” This is when we realize that this lady is Rosa Parks. This sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The props used were very simple: chairs and pieces of wood. Because the show was so complex and full of action, it would have been overwhelming to have tons of probs. The chairs were used as actual chairs, but were also used to represent the rail car, where the wood was used at the car floor the boys were sitting on. The chairs were used as the jail cell, solitary confinement, and a stool for the governor to represent his power and importance. At the end, the chairs were used as the bus where Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus. Having a simple stage set allowed for the audience to focus on the performers instead of what was going on behind them. It was important to pay attention to the actors because each piece of their story was significant. The Scottsboro Boys changed every set design on stage, making it into a dance almost every time. Lighting was used to highlight a specific person. The costumes were very old fashioned. The Scottsboro boys wore hats and raggedy clothing. The “white” people were found in suits or uniforms. Ruby and Victoria were dressed is cardigans and dresses with hats and purses, represented a classy southern bell, even though they weren’t. Even though all nine of the Scottsboro boys played huge roles, Haywood stuck out to me more than the other characters. His boisterous attitude and supportive role for the other boys, especially Eugene made him seem to have less fear and more confidence in the situation compared to the others.
The Scottsboro Boys tried to bring people’s awareness to the public about the trials the black community went through. It brings up the issues or racism, the right to fair trial, anti-Semitism, and miscarriage of justice through songs and dance in a comic relief form. The show reveals the shocking chapter in the history of the American civil rights movement. The boys were dragged through court several times. No “crime” in American history has ever produced as many trials, convictions, reversal, and retrials as this case did.