"The Scottsboro Boys," the John Kander & Fred Ebb musical that had an eight-week pre-Broadway run at the Guthrie Theater, will close Dec. 12. The shuttering of the show, only six weeks after opening, will cost investors $5 million, producer Barry Weissler told Bloomberg News.

The musical, staged by acclaimed director Susan Stroman, uses the throwback form of minstrelsy to tell a story about a historic miscarriage of justice.

After its Guthrie run, the show received mostly favorable reviews in New York, where critics lauded the strong cast and Stroman's direction.

But "Scottsboro" was also met by picketers who objected to its use of minstrelsy and blackface.