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. Upcoming performances are at 7:30 p.m. on June 27 and July 3, and 8 p.m. on June 29; tickets and info at americanplayers.org. Also: At 7 p.m. Sunday, June 23, APT and UW’s Odyssey Project will hold “A Dialogue about Ma Rainey” at the UW South Madison Partnership, 2238 S. Park St., to explore the play’s themes with director Gavin Lawrence, associate artist director Alys Dickerson and members of the cast. All are welcome.

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.