Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe dives into the New Year tonight with the opening of its first show for 2015, Knock Me A Kiss. Written by Charles Smith and based off the true story, the play dramatically details the spirited and hopeful but ultimately short-lived romance between Yolande Du Bois, daughter of civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, and Countee Cullen, a poet rising to the top of the Harlem Renaissance.

“When you play a historical figure, a lot is riding on the fact that this was a person who existed, who breathed, who made things happen,” said E. Mani Cadet, the actor playing Du Bois and whom WBTT fans may recognize as the voice of Audrey II in the previous production of Little Shop of Horrors. “I already knew a lot about W.E.B. Du Bois, but I did a lot of research. It’s great pressure, but great to play because he was a great man.”

And as Du Bois was known as a great man in his own time, so an expectant world watched the 1928 marriage of Yolande and Cullen as a momentous union of great intellect and artistry, a high point in the Harlem Renaissance. The ensuing collapse brooked widespread disappointment. Knock Me A Kiss offers a more intimate look at Yolande as a young woman finding her way under intense pressure, torn between family obligation, outside expectation and an up-and-coming band leader named Jimmie Lunceford.

“What I always want whenever I do this play is for the audience to go read about these characters, because these people existed,” said Knock Me A Kiss director Chuck Smith, visiting from his position as resident director for the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where he was also a founding member of the Chicago Theatre Company. “I want them to further investigate.”

Both Smith and Cadet expressed satisfaction with their time at WBTT. “Let’s put it this way – I plan to come back,” said Smith.

“The platform that [Nate Jacobs] has created for actors to display their work is a great thing for Sarasota,” said Cadet, now in his third production with the company. “15 years later, I’m just happy the platform is still here for African American theater.”

Knock Me A Kiss opens tonight at 8pm and runs until Feb. 8.