January 18 - February 18, 2024

This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is set in the segregation-era South of 1944. On a Louisiana Army base, two shots ring out. A Black sergeant is murdered. A series of interrogations triggers a gripping barrage of questions about sacrifice, service, and identity in America. One persistent investigator must race against his white leadership to unravel the crime before they unravel him. Audiences were on the edge of their seats when A Soldier’s Play ran January 18 - February 18, 2024.

Click through the gallery below for photos, reviewer comments and information about the creative team and the generous sponsors who made this show possible.

Graphic design by Paula Murray, Artefact Design
Video by Bill Wagy Productions
Photos by Sorcha Augustine

October 11 - November 19, 2023

Set on a Caribbean island, this Tony award-winning musical moved and exhilarated patrons, as the story of a peasant girl searching for love and her place in the world unfolded. This sweeping production is based on the novel "My Love, My Love" by Rosa Guy and showcases Caribbean rhythms and instruments as it deals with complicated social issues of race, class and affairs of the heart. Once On This Island was presented October 11 - November 19, 2023.

CLICK BELOW to watch a preview video about the show.

Click through the gallery below for photos, reviewer comments and information about the creative team and the generous sponsors who made this show possible.

Graphic design by Paula Murray, Artefact Design
Video by Bill Wagy Productions
Photos by Sorcha Augustine

June 12 – 23, 2024

WBTT presented a short-run, June 12 – 23, 2024, of Melda Beaty’s Coconut Cake in conjunction with four other theatre companies as part of the show’s rolling world premiere. This play was the winner of the Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin Rolling World Premiere Award at the 2022 National Black Theatre Festival. The comedy tells the story of four retirees who spend their days debating the mysteries of life over coffee and games of chess at a local McDonald’s. But when a mysterious woman moves to town, tempting Eddie Lee and his chess buddies to indulge in her melt-in-your-mouth coconut cake and medicine cabinet secrets, their lives are changed forever. The show starred K. Sidney Brunson, Lawrence Evans, Lee Palmer, David Sitler, and Jacob Smith. A special performance was held during WBTT’s annual Juneteenth Arts Festival free to the community.

Click through the gallery below for photos, reviewer comments and information about the creative team and the generous sponsors who made this show possible.

Graphic design by Paula Murray, Artefact Design
Video by Bill Wagy Productions
Photos by Sorcha Augustine

APRIL 17 - MAY 26, 2024

For the fourth time since 2011, Sheldon Rhoden starred as Marvin Gaye in Marvin Gaye: Prince of Soul. Backed by an all-star cast including Ariel Blue, Brian L. Boyd, Jazzmin Carson, Michael Kinsey, Michael Mendez, Raleigh Mosely II, and Amber Myers, Jai Shanae, and Emerald Rose Sullivan, the revue chronicles Gaye’s life from living under the strict rule of his father, to becoming a musical icon who forged his own path despite struggles and losses. Audiences sang along to “Heard it Through The Grapevine,” “Stubborn Kind of Fellow”, and “Sexual Healing.” According to Monica Roman Gragnier of The Observer, “It almost goes without saying that Rhoden’s rendition of Gaye’s 1982 hit, “Sexual Healing,” from his 17th and final album, “Midnight Love,” sends WBTT audience into a swoon, at least during the performance I saw.”

CLICK BELOW to watch a preview video about the show.

Click through the gallery below for photos, reviewer comments and information about the creative team and the generous sponsors who made this show possible.

Graphic design by Paula Murray, Artefact Design
Video by Bill Wagy Productions
Photos by Sorcha Augustine