Two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum will play the Interlocutor in the Broadway production of Kander & Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys. Cullum created the role in the show’s world premiere off-Broadway production at the Vineyard Theatre in February. The Scottsboro Boys will begin previews at the Lyceum Theatre on October 7 and open on October 31, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.
Cullum joins previously announced cast members Sean Bradford (Ozie Powell and Ruby Bates), Josh Breckenridge (Olen Montgomery), Derrick Cobey (Andy Wright), Colman Domingo (Mr. Bones), Joshua Henry (Haywood Patterson), Rodney Hicks (Clarence Norris), Kendrick Jones (Willie Roberson), Forrest McClendon (Mr. Tambo), Julius Thomas III (Roy Wright), Sharon Washington (The Lady) and Christian Dante White (Charles Weems and Victoria Price). Broadway casting for the show’s youngest role, Eugene Williams, will be announced soon.
The Scottsboro Boys features a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb and a book by David Thompson. Based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s, in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime, the musical is a unique exploration of a fascinating chapter in American history.
Cullum won Tony Awards for his starring roles in Shenandoah and On the Twentieth Century and received Tony nominations for 110 in the Shade, Urinetown and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. His Broadway credits also include August: Osage County, Cymbeline, Show Boat, Aspects of Love, Private Lives, Deathtrap, Man of La Mancha and Camelot. Cullum was a regular on the hit TV series Northern Exposure.
Prior to Broadway, The Scottsboro Boys will play a limited engagement at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, running July 31 through September 25. The show will be produced on Broadway by Barry and Fran Weissler, Jacki Barlia Florin and the Vineyard Theatre.