During Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s 26th theatre season, which will be a celebration of the “Soul of a People,” WBTT will offer Pride Nights during the run of each regular season show.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has announced its 2025–2026 season, themed “Soul Of A People.” The lineup includes Purlie, Paradise Blue, How I Got Over, and a new original musical Lies, Spells and Old Wives’ Tales, plus the return of Black Nativity for the holidays.
Nate Jacobs, the Founder and Artistic Director of West Coast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT), loves to tell stories. In his director’s notes for the last few shows I have noticed that he always refers to the utmost importance of telling our stories.
For the final show of its 25th anniversary theatre season, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present “Syncopated Avenue,” which will take audiences on a musical journey through the captivating and entertaining world of tap dance.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's 26th season will be a celebration of the “Soul Of A People.” In its 2025-2026 theatre season, WBTT will offer fan favorites, a drama by playwright/actress Dominique Morisseau, and a brand-new world premiere show.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will be recognized with its sixth invitation to perform during the prestigious International Black Theatre Festival (formerly the National Black Theatre Festival), which took place July 29-August 3 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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.
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