Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Encyclopedia
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play - one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson
, a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American playwright - that chronicles the twentieth century African American experience. The play is set in Chicago
in the 1920s (the only play in the group not set in Pittsburgh
), and deals with issues of race, art, religion and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers.
The play's title refers to a song of the same title by Ma Rainey
referring to the Black Bottom dance
.
By the time Ma Rainey does turn up in full regalia and entourage in tow, the recording schedule is badly behind, throwing the white producers Sturdyvant and Irvin into more and more irate disarray. Ma's insistence that her stuttering nephew Sylvester should do the voice intro to the title song causes more havoc. As the band waits for various technical problems to be resolved the conflict between Levee and Cutler reaches boiling point and violence ensues. Finally, when Levee is simultaneously fired from the band by Ma for his insubordination and then rejected by Sturdyvant who had offered to record his songs his anger becomes too much and he stabs Toledo, killing him, thus destroying any possibility of a future for himself.
on October 11, 1984 and starred Charles S. Dutton
as Levee and Theresa Merritt
as Ma. Direction was by Lloyd Richards
, one of August Wilson's longest collaborators. It received the 1985 Tony Award nomination for Best Play; Dutton and Merrit were nominated for acting awards. The show ran for 276 performances.
It was first performed in the UK at the National Theatre in London in 1989 in a production by Howard Davies starring Clark Peters and Hugh Quarshie as Toledo and Levee. It was enormously well received.
A Broadway revival opened on February 6, 2003 at the Royale Theatre, featuring Charles S. Dutton
as Levee and Whoopie Goldberg as Ma. Directed by Marion McClinton, the show ran for 68 performances.
Subsequent UK revivals have taken place in Liverpool at the Playhouse (2004, direction: Gemma Bodinetz) and the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre in a production starring Antonio Fargas
as Toledo, Ram John Holder
as Slow Drag and Johnnie Fiori as Ma (2006, direction: Jacob Murray).
Awards
Nominations
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
, a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American playwright - that chronicles the twentieth century African American experience. The play is set in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the 1920s (the only play in the group not set in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
), and deals with issues of race, art, religion and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers.
The play's title refers to a song of the same title by Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
referring to the Black Bottom dance
Black Bottom (dance)
Black Bottom refers to a dance. which became popular in the 1920s, during the period known as the Flapper era.The dance originated in New Orleans in the 1900s. The theatrical show Dinah brought the Black Bottom dance to New York in 1924, and the George White's Scandals featured it at the Apollo...
.
Plot
In a Chicago based recording studio, Ma Rainey's band players, Cutler, Toledo, Slow Drag, and Levee turn up to record a new album of her songs. As they wait for her to arrive they banter, tell stories, joke, philosophise and argue. As the play unfolds it becomes clear that the tension is between the young hot-headed trumpeter Levee who has dreams of having his own band and veteran players Cutler and Toledo.By the time Ma Rainey does turn up in full regalia and entourage in tow, the recording schedule is badly behind, throwing the white producers Sturdyvant and Irvin into more and more irate disarray. Ma's insistence that her stuttering nephew Sylvester should do the voice intro to the title song causes more havoc. As the band waits for various technical problems to be resolved the conflict between Levee and Cutler reaches boiling point and violence ensues. Finally, when Levee is simultaneously fired from the band by Ma for his insubordination and then rejected by Sturdyvant who had offered to record his songs his anger becomes too much and he stabs Toledo, killing him, thus destroying any possibility of a future for himself.
Characters
- Ma Rainey
- Cutler, trombonist
- Dussie Mae, Ma's girlfriend
- Irvin, Ma's manager
- Levee, trumpeter
- Policeman
- Slow Drag, bassist
- Sturdyvant studio owner
- Sylvester, Ma's nephew
- Toledo, pianist
Productions
It was produced on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on October 11, 1984 and starred Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
as Levee and Theresa Merritt
Theresa Merritt
Theresa Merritt Hines was an American stage, film and television actress and singer.-Career:Born in Emporia, Virginia, Merritt appeared in many theatrical productions but gained fame later in life when she starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Wiz Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24,...
as Ma. Direction was by Lloyd Richards
Lloyd Richards
Lloyd George Richards was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus.- Biography :...
, one of August Wilson's longest collaborators. It received the 1985 Tony Award nomination for Best Play; Dutton and Merrit were nominated for acting awards. The show ran for 276 performances.
It was first performed in the UK at the National Theatre in London in 1989 in a production by Howard Davies starring Clark Peters and Hugh Quarshie as Toledo and Levee. It was enormously well received.
A Broadway revival opened on February 6, 2003 at the Royale Theatre, featuring Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
as Levee and Whoopie Goldberg as Ma. Directed by Marion McClinton, the show ran for 68 performances.
Subsequent UK revivals have taken place in Liverpool at the Playhouse (2004, direction: Gemma Bodinetz) and the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre in a production starring Antonio Fargas
Antonio Fargas
Antonio Juan Fargas is an American actor famous for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation movies, as well as his portrayal of Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky and Hutch.-Biography:...
as Toledo, Ram John Holder
Ram John Holder
Ram John Holder is a British actor. He began his performing career as a folk singer in New York. In 1962 he came to London and worked with Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop initially as a musician, and later as an actor...
as Slow Drag and Johnnie Fiori as Ma (2006, direction: Jacob Murray).
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1985 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play
Nominations
- 1985 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play
- 1985 Tony Award for Best Play