Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

“The more music you got in the world, the fuller it is.”

Ma Rainey’s band is waiting. It’s 1926 Chicago, and “The Mother of the Blues” takes her time getting ready to record. Tensions and temperatures rise as the musicians recount tales of rage, joy, betrayal and faith in astonishing stories and a heart-stopping climax. Chicago legends Chuck Smith and Harry J. Lennix reunite for the play that smashed box office records in its 1997 Goodman premiere for this major revival of “a genuine American masterpiece” (Chicago Reader).