Super Bad Theater Company

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History of Super Bad Theater Company​

 

SuperBad Theater Named after James Brown’s hit song, “Super Bad” (1969), Super Bad Theater Company was conceived of by Dedrick Weathersby in 2015 as a hub of creative performance and a generator of black stories. It has since expanded to a multifaceted theater company, producing two successful musicals and a stage play, and establishing a youth program that has been introduced to several schools in multiple Bay Area counties. Regarding the theatrical performances produced, Super Bad Theater Company has been an incubator of musical biopics and adaptations of influential black musicians culminating in two long-running musical shows based on the lives and careers of James Brown and Little Richard. 

The first, “Remembering James: The Life and Music of James Brown,” a musical that debuted at the Palace Theater in San Francisco, would go on to tour across the country between 2019 and 2022, playing in numerous cities including New York, Meridian, MS, and Memphis, TN. It would win several Broadway World Awards for Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Fan Favorite. This would be followed by a comedy stage play titled “The New Teacher” which premiered in 2022 in Longview, Texas. This play, which was written for kids and featured acting by kids, became a hit in East Texas where it went on to be adapted into a musical. Presently, Super Bad Theater Company is supporting “Tutti Frutti the Musical: Life and Music of Little Richard,” a musical that premiered in Dallas, Texas in 2024 and is scheduled for a West Coast premier in 2026.

Super Bad Theater Company takes its community outreach and educational mission seriously. Since 2012, it has worked to develop a youth oriented performing arts program as part of its “theater in the community” initiative. The Youth Creative Ethics Workshop, a K-6 theater education program, has established curriculum in four schools in Solano and Contra Costa County where students are taught ethics and core tools for navigating a variety of social dynamics through performance and creative play. The program itself incorporates theatrical exercises, improvisation, characterization techniques, and public speaking as part of its core curriculum. And it has a parallel intent to prepare students for auditioning in school-based plays that will be held at the end of the program. In 2022, Super Bad Theater Company won the NAACP Award for Best Creative Youth Organization.

While musical theater shows and the Youth Creative Ethics Workshop has historically taken up the bulk of Super Bad Theater Company’s programming focus, a shift in leadership and a new turn towards producing a wider range of artistic productions including plays, classics, experimental works, culturally relevant dramas, and new works in early stages of development, has revitalized us in our vision of bringing joy, levity, knowledge, and enrichment to audiences in the Bay Area and beyond.

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Vision Statements 

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    ● Focus on Empowerment and Access 
To be the catalyst for radical inclusion in the Bay Area/Northern California arts ecosystem, where the voices of the historically silent are amplified, and every community member has the tools and stage to create art that transforms their lives and ignites collective dialogue.

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 ● Community and Impact 
To create a future where theater is an essential, accessible lifeline a space where authentic, uplifting storytelling heals emotional divides, strengthens community bonds, and proves the life saving power of the arts for all.

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 ● Systemic Change and Collaboration 
To establish a vibrant, collaborative Bay Area/Northern California arts ecosystem built on shared resources, authentic and holistic casting practices, and deep community partnership, setting a new standard for inclusive, sustainable, and impactful theater production.

 

 

A Message From Our Affiliates ​

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Edutainment Transformed At Weathersby Productions, we believe entertainment should do more than just dazzle—it should teach, inspire, and connect. This core value of edutainment (educating and entertaining) fuels everything we create.

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Since our inaugural production of The Michael Jackson Tribute Show in Longview, TX, in 2009, we've delivered a diverse and acclaimed selection of shows to audiences across the U.S. We are proud to be recognized as a leading performing arts group in East Texas, the Northern Bay Area, and Southern California. Our dedicated family of performers works tirelessly to bring you powerful, enriching, and unforgettable productions, ensuring every time you see a Weathersby show, you leave both thrilled and informed.