Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe calls its holiday offering its Christmas card to the community. This year, WBTT returns “A Motown Christmas” to the Donelly Theatre stage.
“I created it from the history of Motown, so in the show, we talk about historical facts and share the music off of the Motown artists’ Christmas albums, as well as a lot of the traditional Christmas music of the world,” said founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs, who wrote and arranged the musical.
Among the traditional carols included in the show are “Deck the Halls,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Silent Night.”
Also included are many fan favorites from Motown icons.
“A little bit from The Supremes, a little bit from The Temptations, a little bit from Marvin Gaye, a little bit from Smokey Robinson and on and on and on,” Jacobs said.
In addition to those Motown artists, "A Motown Christmas" includes covers of original Christmas songs written and recorded by The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.
“So it is just a Motown celebration and a wave to Motown and Barry Gordy’s vision of how to get Black music worldwide and a good holiday high-spirited evening of performance,” Jacobs said.
There may even be an original tune or two.
“A Motown Christmas” is on stage Nov. 27 to Jan. 5, 2025.
MORE INFORMATION:
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe was founded in 1999.
WBTT has been dubbed Sarasota’s “miracle theater" because of its unique ability to attract broad-based community support.
The organization’s mission is to produce professional, high-quality, thought-provoking theater that promotes and celebrates African American history and experience, engages a broad base of patrons and audiences, supports the development of a dynamic group of aspiring artists, and builds self-esteem in youth of color.
WBTT’s season consists of five main-stage shows. It opened its season with “Soul Crooners: Solid Gold Edition,” and will follow “A Motown Christmas” with August Wilson’s “Fences,” “Five Guys Named Moe,” and the world premiere musical “Syncopated Avenue” (also created, adapted and directed by WBTT founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs).
“A Motown Christmas” premiered in 2015. It was reprised in 2017 and performed again in 2019.
Nate Jacobs directs “ Motown Christmas.” The show’s assistant director and choreographer is Donald Frison.
The cast includes Syreeta S. Banks, Catara Brae, Jazzmin Carson, Ilexis Holmes, Delores McKenzie, Michael Mejia-Mendez, CJ Melton, Raleigh Mosely II, Jermarcus Riggins, Nate Summers and Rickey Tedesco.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays as well as on Wednesday, Nov. 27, to open the run.
Tickets are $57 for adults, $22 for students and active duty military (ages 25 and under, with valid ID). Call the box office (941-366-1505) or visit westcoastblacktheatre.org to reserve seats.
Jacobs enjoys creating and arranging musicals for Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.
“I started off earlier doing children’s theater and I would go look some of the stuff in the teachers’ store when I was an art school teacher, and I wasn’t interested,” Jacobs said. “I thought if I’m not interested, the kids not gonna be interested. So that’s why I started developing original pieces for my students, and realized I had the gift for doing that.”
He found a receptive audience, not only with his students, but their parents, as well.
“The parents would come up and say ‘Omigod, this is so great’ and ‘You so great,’ and that carried over when I started the professional theater,” Jacobs added.
Jacobs found the creative process rewarding.
“First of all, you’re able to tell more essential stories that need to be told,” Jacobs explained.
“Many, many years ago when I got my first executive director, Christine Jennings, she called me in her office one day and she said, ‘Look at this.’ On her desk was the five shows we were doing that season. Three of them were former Broadway shows. She said, ‘Nate, you’re doing Broadway but our people love your shows. They really love your shows. Your shows are the first to sell out every year.’”
And that’s likely to happen again this season with “A Motown Christmas.”