Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (HSA)

Written by August Wilson, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom takes place over a single day in 1927, in a Chicago recording studio. Ma Rainey, the legendary blues singer, is due to arrive to cut a new album of old favorites. Waiting impatiently for her are her sidemen, the recording company owner, and her manager. The play is a riveting portrayal of the search for identity and the process by which one sells his soul for the American Dream.