Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

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Liz Lauren

Matthew Lolar-Johnson and Dee Dee Batteast in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

Matthew Lolar-Johnson and Dee Dee Batteast in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," American Players Theatre, 2024.

APT moves away from romantic comedy with a production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a 1982 August Wilson play that centers on conflict during a recording session for blues singer Ma Rainey. Rainey’s real life inspired the play; “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is one of her own songs. See Mel Hammond's review here. Only two more performances remain: 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 8 p.m. on Sept. 7.

media release: Ma Rainey sings with the voice of the rural, Black south; her flashy persona and ravaging blues a conduit and a salve for the joy and pain of generations. But the musical winds are ever-shifting, and brash trumpeter, Levee, burns for a more progressive sound – whatever the cost may be. Another great American Classic from August Wilson – a poet whose superpower is revealing the beauty in the everyday, peeling back the veneer to reveal a human condition that binds us all together. A powerhouse play with powerhouse performances ringing out from the Hill Theatre. Do not miss it. Running June 27 - September 7.

Featuring Greta Oglesby, Nathan Barlow, Bryant Louis Bentley, Sydney Lolita Cusic, David Daniel, Chiké Johnson, Brian Mani, Lester Purry

Contains adult themes & language.