The prolific playwright August Wilson immortalizes his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania hometown in an epic American Century Cycle that contains ten productions, one for each decade of the 20th century. Yale Rep at 222 York Street in New Haven is bringing to vibrant life a play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” that enjoyed its world premiere way back in 1984 and you are invited to experience its complex joys again until Saturday, October 24.
For the decade of the 1920s, August Wilson sets his masterpiece in the steaming heat of a Chicago recording studio (not Pittsburgh this time around) as the two white entrepreneurs Neal Lerner’s Sturdyvant and Jeff Parker’s Irvin anxiously await the arrival of Maiesha McQueen, a difficult and opinionated star in their corral of talent. As a successful and legendary Black artist, Ma Rainey has earned the title “Mother of the Blues” and she exercises her control over her band and her music. It’s 1 p.m. and her faithful and devoted band members are ready to rehearse for the record they are creating, Terence Archie’s Cutler, Dion Graham’s Toledo, and Ray Anthony Thomas’s Slow Drag. Also ready to jive is the band’s newest member, Jimmie J. J, Jeter’s Levee Green who has his own original ideas about how the songs should be played, especially his own version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” that differs dramatically from the way Ma Rainey wants it orchestrated.
When Ma Rainey breezes in, quite late and demanding three bottles of Coca Cola, accompanied by her nephew Mark Yarde’s Sylvester and Brittany Antoinette Davis’s Dussie Mae, the stage has been set for an explosion of fireworks. Levee is not about to backdown on his demands and neither is Ma Rainey. She wants Sylvester to announce the opening of her rendition of the lead song, even though he stutters. As a young ambitious trumpeter, Levee confronts Ma head-on asserting he knows more than she does and tries to fast talk her into surrender. As Ma is trying her hardest to survive and even thrive in a world that is not welcoming, their confrontation is doomed to occur. Come learn how a pair of $11 shoes sets off the ultimate tragedy.
Timothy Douglas has directed every play in August Wilson’s Century Cycle and he was an understudy when it witnessed its world premiere in 1984. Now as director, Douglas is responsible for the tension and temperaments that make this play so dramatic.
For tickets ($20-65), call the Yale Rep, 222 York Street, New Haven at 203-432-1234 or online at yalerep.org. Performances are Tuesday 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 p.m.and 8 p.m., Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
According to Timothy Douglas, “A key focus in Ma Rainey is on the fineness and nooks and crannies of the individual characters" and the intricacies of their interactions, their fortitude and their struggles. Come learn how music is life’s way of talking.
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