A Broadway Star is Reborn in Sarasota

Sarasota’s Teresa Stanley knew when to give Broadway a short break. It just took her five years to realize it.

‘Everything is telling me I need to come home,’ Stanley had told Nate Jacobs, artistic director of during a break in tour. ‘I’ve never came back to give back to what has helped me.’

Stanley, 29, one of the founding members of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, starred on Broadway in The Color Purple, toured in Rock of Ages and now she returns to Sarasota in a Jacobs original, Love, Sung in the Key of Aretha.

This is where it all began for Stanley and marks the first time she has returned to act in Sarasota since she left more than five years ago.

Love, Sung in the Key of Aretha opens Friday and runs through Jan. 16 at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s theater, 1646 10^th Way, Sarasota. Shows Tuesday through Sunday begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $28.

The play focuses on four women — three women who are seasoned singers and a younger one, Mattie played by Stanley who has hit it big and is settling back home where she opens up a club so she has another place to sing, Jacobs said.

“She becomes the strong type and inspiration for the community because she is a black woman who came back and making it happen,” he said.

Aretha Franklin’s famous songs help tell the stories.

“All of her songs are human experiences,” Jacobs said. “Everybody can relate. It doesn’t matter what your color is. Everybody has those experiences that Aretha sings about. And Teresa’s that kind of singer. When you hear her sing it’s a spiritual experience.”

Stanley’s tears have dried from experiencing stepping on the troupe’s stage for the first time during a recent rehearsal. Before the troupe moved into its theater on 10^th Way two years ago, they traveled around in Nate’s white van to go to show to show.

When she started out at 13, she wasn’t sure about this theater thing. She went on to college at the urging of her mother but dropped out because she saw her direct path to the Broadway lights.

“You never really know what your purpose is, especially around that age sometimes it’s hard to figure out,” she said. “She was just trying to get me some kind of foundation, and she had no idea what I wanted to do either.”

Stanley’s mother had moved the family from Panama City to Sarasota to be close to the headquarters of Westcoast Center for Human Development for church and school and later auditioned and starred in Purlie at after some coaching by Jacobs to learn two songs.

“She opened her mouth singing that song, and it blew my mind,” Jacobs said.  “… It’s hard to sing those songs and be the very voice I wanted to hear. It was an amazing experience, and she still couldn’t see what I saw.”

The cast remains in awe of Stanley’s professionalism, Jacobs said, as she does her “private inspirational moments with just about everybody in the cast.”

Stanley is humbled by the flattery, but she’s says she knows she has a gift, but realizes there’s another level to attain.

“People are like, ‘Oh she’s a star,’” Stanley said. “I don’t really see it that way. I’m just Teresa doing my normal thing, and I say, ‘Hey, I’m working on it.’ I’m so blessed I learned how to accept how I am. I don’t mean that in a boastful way.”

She still goes to the beach, she loves a good night at the movies and loves to be with her family as much as possible because she leaves town Jan. 18, but there could be another Sarasota show in the works for her, she said.

“I feel like it’s going to be a great year,” she said. “I’m about to be 30, so I’m going to make it a great year.”

The cast feels a buzz about the play, Jacobs said, even commenting how it “feels like a real movie.” It would only be a dream and an honor to the cast if Queen Aretha herself could see the show.

“I wish she could at least come and see it and see our appreciation for her music,” Stanley said. “That’s what her music does — it tells your story.”

The cast also includes veteran troupe members Ariel Blue, Tsadok Porter, Alyssa White, Santoy Campbell and Mikey Mendez. New performers include Steve Cannon, Damienne Flagler and Chakara Rose.

“You’ll see a lot of great talent, a lot of new talent, a lot of seasoned talent, but it will be on one great stage for one great show for one great experience. And you never know where these wonderful people – mark my words – where we will be in the next three, four, five years,” Stanley said, smiling.

“This will be something to behold.”

Welcome home, Teresa.

If you go

Love, Sung in the Key of Aretha 

When: Opens Friday and runs through Jan. 16. Shows Tuesday through Sunday begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m.

Where: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s theater, 1646 10^th Way, Sarasota.

Cost: $28.

For more information, visit wbttroupe.org or call 941-366-1505.