Michael Jacobs

Ruby is a masterpiece of musical theater that deserves all the praise it receives. The creative direction, sensational vocals, and chemistry between the cast members all contribute to making it a must-see production.

After two delays due to COVID-19, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will finally bring to the stage the world-premiere musical, “Ruby.”

The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has received a $25,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help underwrite its 2024 production of “Ruby” as well as to defray the costs of community outreach activities related to the play.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's 24th season will be a celebration of all things that are “Simply the Best!” In its 2023-2024 theatre season, WBTT will offer fan favorites as well as new pieces leaders hope will become favorites.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will close its 2021-2022 season with two world-premiere one-act plays, under the auspices of its New Playwrights Series. These plays, “From Birmingham To Broadway” and “Float Like A Butterfly,” will be presented together May 4-29.

Due to continuing breakthrough positive COVID-19 test results and a few cases among the “Ruby” cast and crew, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has made the difficult decision to cancel its impending and highly-anticipated world-premiere musical, “Ruby.” 

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s world-premiere musical “Ruby,” which was originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 season but delayed due to COVID-19, has been pandemic-delayed once again.

The world premiere show “Ruby” is a musical retelling by WBTT founder/artistic director Nate Jacobs and his brother, Michael Jacobs, of the shocking killing of a White doctor in Live Oak, Florida, by a Black woman – Ruby McCollum – who was tried in the case and eventually committed to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida.  

The world premiere show “Ruby” (which was originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 season but delayed due to COVID-19) is a musical retelling by WBTT founder/artistic director Nate Jacobs and his brother, Michael Jacobs, of the shocking killing of a White doctor in Live Oak, Florida, by a Black woman – Ruby McCollum – who was tried in the case and eventually committed to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida.  

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) has announced its 22nd anniversary 2021-2022 season, with the Maya Angelou-inspired theme, “And Still We Rise.”

'We close things out with a look at the 48th production of City Center's famed Encore's, the glorious musical Finian's Rainbow, which starred Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton and Terri White. It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Kate told me, 'I get to sing the most beautiful songs. I think Burton Lane was a master of melody.' Cheyenne said he knew the songs but didn't really know the story, 'It's very, very current. I was actually surprised. The main crux of the plot is a bigoted white man in power from the south who is being replaced by an open-minded black man. Hmmm. So, it's very current.''

'What I loved the most about this episode', says BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge, 'was following the journey of the 2009 musical The Story of My Life. This episode of Broadway Rewind looks at the ill- fated musical, which featured two wonderful performances by Will Chase and Malcolm Gets, but we start off at a rehearsal for Michael Jacobs play 'Impressionism' directed by Jack O'Brien. It welcomed back to Broadway, Tony Award winners Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen along with Marsha Mason, Aaron Lazar and Andre de Shields. Director Jack O'Brien told me why he had to do this play, 'It's about us. We haven't had a really witty, wise, romantic comedy in New York, in a long time and I've got this gorgeous cast.' Joan Allen said,

Due to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations advising the cancellation or postponement of gatherings of more than 50 people in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe officials have closed the current production of 'Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.' The show was slated to run through April 5; the organization a?" which has committed to paying the 'Your Arms Too Short' artists, band and crew through the scheduled end of the run a?" faces a potential financial loss of $50,000 for each week that the theatre remains closed.

The Academy of American Poets has received what is believed to be the largest grant ever made by a philanthropic institution to support poets in the United States-$4.5 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The unprecedented grant will enable the Academy of American Poets to fund its Poets Laureate Fellowship program for the next three years.

Jordan Eagle joins the cast of Women of The Wings Volume III: A Celebration of Female Musical Theatre Writers at Feinstein's/54 Below on March 14, 2020 at 9:30pm.

The Academy of American Poets has announced that thirteen poets who serve as poets laureate of states, cities, and counties across the U.S. will receive a combined $1,050,000 in recognition of their literary merit and to support civic programs, which will take place over the next twelve months.

'Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!' Sir Walter Scott said it best, 170 years before Michael Jacobs' Cheaters was first produced on Broadway in 1978. Cheaters is an amusing look at three couples whose lives intertwine in the most awkward and unbelievable way. EMH Productions brings new life to this oft-criticized work in a fresh, entertaining take.

Award winning EMH Productions continues its 8th season with a romantic dramedy about love, relationships and marriage directed by local well known talent Scott Divine. This play skirts the line of farce in the tradition of Neil Simon, throwing in some real life tensions between the 3 couples it centers around: The newly formed couple deciding if marriage is right for them vs. their two sets of parents who are in various stages of unrest. This play got its start back in 1978 on Broadway a the Biltmore Theatre, notably starring Doris Roberts in the role of Saintly Grace, who sainthood undergoes some serious testing when it comes to having an affair. The playwright has since updated this play to reflect the advancement of the times in 1982 and then 2013, but its message has always remained the same. Just goes to show how some things remain relevant, regardless of the span of time.

Award winning EMH Productions continues its 8th season with a romantic dramedy about love, relationships and marriage directed by local well known talent Scott Divine. This play skirts the line of farce in the tradition of Neil Simon, throwing in some real life tensions between the 3 couples it centers around: The newly formed couple deciding if marriage is right for them vs. their two sets of parents who are in various stages of unrest. This play got its start back in 1978 on Broadway a the Biltmore Theatre, notably starring Doris Roberts in the role of Saintly Grace, who sainthood undergoes some serious testing when it comes to having an affair. The playwright has since updated this play to reflect the advancement of the times in 1982 and then 2013, but its message has always remained the same. Just goes to show how some things remain relevant, regardless of the span of time.

Ovens Auditorium will host 'Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child', an award-winning Gospel stage play, written and produced by Dr. Mildred Summerville, on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Bojangles' Coliseum Box Office located at 2700 E. Independence Blvd. Tickets start at $49 (plus applicable service charges) and are subject to change. Direct link to purchase tickets here.