“Soul Of A People” 

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) is pleased to announce the first show in its 2025-2026 “Soul Of A People” theatre season: “Purlie.” The production runs from October 8 through November 9, 2025 in The Donelly Theatre of WBTT (1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota). In this fun-loving musical, a dynamic traveling preacher, Purlie Victorious Judson, returns to his small Georgia town – still enmeshed in Jim Crow times – to shake things up and change lives. The self-taught preacher plans to open an abandoned church and ring the bell of freedom. The Tony Award-winning play made its Broadway debut in 1970; the musical is based on Ossie Davis’s 1961 play, “Purlie Victorious.“ The play explores themes of race, injustice, community, and the struggle for freedom and equality in the American South. The original Broadway show starred Cleavon Little and Melba Moore, who both won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for their portrayals of Purlie and Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, respectively. The play was revived on Broadway in 2023 to critical acclaim. Performances take place Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Individual tickets are $54/adults, $24/students (25 and under) and active military, and $44/adults for preview shows (first three nights of the run). Visit westcoastblacktheatre.org or call the Box Office (941-366-1505) for tickets.