By Mark Stein, Music & Lyrics by Harley White, Jr. Directed by Michael Menendian. Nine African-American teenagers falsely accused in 1931 of assaulting two white Alabama women spent decades in the legal system fighting for their lives. They return from eternity to our stage, where they keep their story alive through songs, a magic act, skits and soft shoe - all to convey the tawdry show that their case became.