ENTERTAINMENT NEWS |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
The Summer Sizzle Of Soul
By: Rick Gee
The Weekly Challenger
Originally posted 7/31/2010
What a pleasure it is to have the opportunity to bring to you the good news about the WBTT (Westcoast Black Theater Troupe). Headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, this amazing group of young artists has taken their artistic skills to a brand new professional level. In addition to their continued performance excellence, WBTT has moved into their new and permanent home at 1012 North Orange Avenue, Sarasota. This marks the first time in its 10-year history that WBTT has had a performance space solely dedicated to its needs.
During the past five years,
I have had the distinct honor to attend and review many of the
productions WBTT have offered under the direction of WBTT founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs. In my opinion, each production would have had no problem being presented under the bright lights of New York’s Broadway. Unbelievably, the two presentations (The Motown 60’s Revue and Sistas in the Name of Soul) offered this summer under the theme of “The Summer Sizzle of Soul” have kicked off at even a higher performance level than in the past.
Last Friday, I sat, watched and listened to an amazing and talented young group of African-American actors perform The Motown 60s Revue. While waiting for the show to begin, I overheard an audience member say, “I heard if you’re not dancing by the end of the show, you’re dead.” A more accurate statement couldn’t have been made. For at the end of the show, I personally witnessed more than two-thirds of the audience either dancing, on their feet clapping their hands, or sitting waving their arms over their heads. It was truly a glorious night of brilliant entertainment.
The show opened with a Martha Reeves & the Vandellas tune “Dancing in the Street” performed by the entire cast of ten. Brilliant beginning, I was ready to dance from the very first note. This was followed by a Diana Ross & the Supremes tune called “You Can’t Hurry Love.” After the very first two tunes, one could sense that the evening was going to be something special. In addition to the abovementioned songs, tunes by The Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Mary Wells, Jackson 5, Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye & Tammie Terrell were performed.
The last three tunes of the show had the audience “raising the roof off of the house.” The tunes were Friendship Train (Gladys Knight & the Pips), Take Me In Your Arms (Isley Brothers), and Shout (Isley Brothers). During the performance of Friendship Train, the cast members and audience formed a human train and danced around the stage area. Finally, the audience simply went wild with whistling, women screeching, dancing, and all sorts of body movements to the beat. It was a sight to behold.
The excellent performances can be attributed to the talents of the outstanding musical cast comprised of Lynette White, Jnana Wilson, Nate Jacobs, Naarai Jacobs, Tsadok Porter, Jeffrey Akins, Leon Pitts II, Nisi Weaver, Sheldon Roden and Charles Manning. These performers continue to demonstrate by their performances, how proud they are to represent WBTT, the first and only professional black theater company on Florida’s West Coast.
Unfortunately, missing from the evening’s cast lineup was the talented sixth grader everybody’s talking about, Chris Eisenberg. Chris has been performing on the TV show “America’s Got Talent.” Last week, he lacked sufficient votes to stay on, and will be included in the remaining performances of Motown 60s Revue.
It seems to me that WBTT has been able to carry out its mission to “produce plays that promote and celebrate the African-American experience, which attracts diverse audiences while using its productions as a vehicle for supporting African-American artists and building the self-esteem of African-American youth.”
The Motown 60s show ended Sunday, July 25; Sistas in the Name of Soul runs from Aug. 19 – 22. Tickets may be purchased by calling (941) 366-1505. Try not to miss this second and last presentation of the summer. It surely will be another big hit produced by a company who has gained a reputation for high quality, thought provoking and entertaining performances. I’ll be there for sure; hope to see YOU there too!
Remember to “Keep Jazz Alive” by “Supporting Live Jazz!”
Jazz fans – do you have any feedback? I would like to hear from YOU! You may visit my website at: rickgeesjazzjamm.com or email me at JazzJamm@aolcom.
|
|
|
|
