Nate Jacobs News

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will welcome back to its stage one of its most successful and popular young artists for a two-night engagement. Christopher Eisenberg, who started working with WBTT Founder/Artistic Director Nate Jacobs at the age of 8 and has gone on to be signed to major label deals, will present “Frank & Me” at WBTT on March 26 and 27, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat announces full line-up of events for 2023 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend, a celebration of art and dance, commemorating the 15th year of the prize and 20th anniversary season of the Hermitage live events April 14-16.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will continue its 2022-2023 “American Dreams” theatre season with the highly-anticipated production, “Dreamgirls.” The show runs from February 22 through April 9, 2023.

The winners have been announced for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards, honoring the best in regional productions, touring shows, and more which had their first performance between October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. This year's awards include a posthumous honor for Director Frank Galati, for his work on Knoxville.

Returning to a live format for the first time since 2020, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is inviting the community to celebrate the rich legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during an inspirational performance.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will bring in the New Year with its production of “Flyin' West” by Pearl Cleage. WBTT had previously presented this show as a staged play reading in the summer of 2018 as part of the national Project1VOICE program, during which Black theatres around the country present the same play on the same day.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The first live standings have been announced for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Sarasota Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe – once again – invites the community to celebrate the holiday season with “Black Nativity,” an inspirational gospel musical originally penned by poet/playwright Langston Hughes that retells the biblical Nativity story. The music is combined with dance, poetry and narrative to deliver a message of joy, hope and liberation.  

The Hermitage Artist Retreat (Sarasota County, Florida) has announced that it will present a showcase of new work created during the inaugural year of the Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative. Made possible with generous support from the Koski Family Foundation, this new initiative is designed to give performers and company members from leading Sarasota arts organizations a chance to expand their artistic practice from 'performer' to 'creator.'

Opening Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe's 23rd anniversary season will be one of the most produced musicals in history, “Guys and Dolls.”

For the seventh summer, actors, dancers and singers ages 13-18 are taking the stage with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. WBTT is proud to present 'Stage of Discovery,' an intensive, five-week summer musical theatre program that is offered at no cost to participants.

For Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe founding member Jnana Cooper, her life’s journey hasn’t always been smooth. But she has come out the other end stronger and, to celebrate, she will return to WBTT – where her professional artistic journey began – and perform in a special concert presentation on June 13 titled “Unbreakable: An Evening with Jnana Wilson Cooper.”

The Jose Ramirez Band will bring its steamy and passionate brand of the blues to Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe for one night only, returning to WBTT's stage after its September 2021 concert here.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will present the ninth year of its annual Young Artist Program, through which Troupe members are able to showcase their talents with self-produced, one-person shows. WBTT's first Young Artist showcase of the 2021-2022 season features singer/dancer/actor Derric Gobourne Jr. in a presentation titled “SH!NE.” The showcase will take place Monday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m.

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.

On April 4, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe presented its lively and music-filled fundraiser, the April Fools Fête, in the ballroom at Michael’s On East. This year’s country-themed celebration was a sold-out success, with 300 community members in attendance – most of them wearing cowboy and cowgirl-appropriate attire. The event raised more than $200,000 in support of WBTT’s education programs.

The Hermitage Artist Retreat has announced four new community programs in May with Hermitage Fellows specializing in music, writing, multimedia, and theater, including an event with Tony Award-nominated playwright Bess Wohl (Grand Horizons, Small Mouth Sounds).