Sacramento theater earns $700,000-plus in state money. Here’s how it will invest the cash

A nonprofit performance organization that showcases Black theater will expand after receiving a generous grant from the state.

Celebration Arts, Sacramento’s premier Black theater, was awarded a check worth $714,068 by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D–Sacramento.

It’s the most in grant money that the organization has received in its 36 years.

The nonprofit plans to utilize the funds to make renovations and other improvements at its B Street Theater at 2727 B St.

“This funding has been a long time coming for our volunteer-run organization, and if you add all the grants we’ve received over the last 36 years, they don’t come close to this,” Celebration Arts founder James Wheatley said.

Celebration Arts started as a dance company in 1976, but a decade later Wheatley transformed it into a nonprofit that is a catered space for Black Sacramentans to express themselves through music, dance, theater and other performing arts.

Celebration Arts provides educational programs to children, teens and adults by bringing Black artists and stories to the stage, such as its showcase last month of Mark Stein’s “Direct From Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys,” a 1931 story of nine Black boys, ages 12 to 19, who were falsely accused of raping two white girls on a train ride in the South.

The lump sum of money given to the organization will help enhance production, such as adding new theatrical lighting and furthering technology investments that contribute to quality theater and arts programs in the Sacramento area.

“We thank Assemblymember Kevin McCarty and the State of California for recognizing Celebration Arts’ commitment to giving opportunities to the community through the performing arts,” Wheatley said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 6:00 AM.