Events

In 2020-2021, we were unable to present our planned season due to COVID-19. But we were determined to persevere. To ensure the safety of our patrons, performers and staff, we transformed our theatre steps, courtyard and parking lot into an outdoor concert area, complete with chairs and tables placed inside chalk circles designed for social distancing. Our first production was Light Up the Night, a concert of sizzling 1970s soul music, featuring such hits as “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Feel Good” and “Love Train,” to name a few. The concert was first staged in October-November 2020 and returned by popular demand in February-March 2021.

As the need for social distancing continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, WBTT pivoted from its planned live staging of Dominique Morisseau's Pipeline to a video production recorded on our mainstage. The play is the compelling story of a mother's fight to give her son a future without turning her back on their community. The video was shown outdoors on a large screen on the WBTT campus for one week, from April 24 through April 30, 2021, then streamed on demand May 1-23.

Continuing our outdoor concert series following the success of Light Up the Night, which showcased some of WBTT’s favorite male performers, we gave the ladies a turn at the microphone with Sistas in the Name of Soul. The show celebrated female R&B and soul singers from the 1970s, including Freda Payne, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pointer Sisters. The songs included such hits as "Midnight Train to Georgia," "Respect," and "Band of Gold."