Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
About the Show
Set in 1927 Chicago, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the story of Ma Rainey, the legendary blues singer, who is due with her entourage to cut new sides of old favorites. Waiting for her are her black musician sidemen, Slow Drag, Cutler, Levee, Toledo; the white owner of the recording company, Sturdyvant, and her white manager, Irvin. What goes down in the session is more than music. It is a riveting portrayal of rage, racism, the self-hate that racism breeds and racial exploitation.
