Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Awarded $25,000 NEA Grant
by Stephi Wild - May 24, 2023
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.
WBTT Announces 2023-2024 Season During 'Hush! Hush! Party'
by Stephi Wild - Mar 7, 2023
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 Closes Season With Pair Of One-Act Plays
by Stephi Wild - Apr 12, 2022
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.
WBTT Cancels Upcoming Run Of RUBY Due To COVID-19
by A.A. Cristi - Jan 21, 2022
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.”
Photos: First Look at the Cast of WBTT's World Premiere Musical RUBY
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 21, 2021
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.
WBTT To Present the World-Premiere of RUBY Next Month
by Stephi Wild - Dec 14, 2021
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.
Broadway Rewind: Cheyenne Jackson & Kate Baldwin Look to the Sky in FINIAN'S RAINBOW!
by Nicole Rosky - Apr 6, 2020
'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.''
Broadway Rewind: Will Chase and Malcom Gets Turn the Page on THE STORY OF MY LIFE!
by Nicole Rosky - Apr 3, 2020
'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,
WBTT Cancels Remainder Of YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD
by A.A. Cristi - Mar 17, 2020
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 $4.5 Million Grant to Support Poets Laureate Projects
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 30, 2020
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.
BWW Review: CHEATERS Explores the Intricacies of Intimacy at the Ooley Theatre
by Courtney Symes - Mar 19, 2019
'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.
SPARE THE ROD, SPOIL THE CHILD Comes To Ovens Auditorium
by Stephi Wild - Feb 5, 2019
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.