Curtain Call: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 10/10

A few weeks ago me, my lady, Cam, and her friend all went to see this show at A Noise Within in Pasadena. I have been to this place a few times now and I think it may be one of my favorite places to watch a live show. They have plenty of parking that is free and the seats are comfortable. The seats have to be comfortable considering August Wilson shows are very long. I have counted and so far have seen five out of the ten of these stories (Pittsburgh Cycle). We plan to see another one next year. Now, I know that there is a movie based off of this play but I have not seen it. So going in I did not know what to expect. I thought that there would be a spooky element considering there has been and all of the other August Wilson plays that I have seen but there was not. I also thought that Ma Rainey would actually be in the show a lot more than she was. This is not a complaint just the fact that I did not know anything about this including the fact that Ma Rainey was a real person.

This takes place in the late 1920s in Chicago. This band shows up and they're waiting for Ma Rainey to get there so they can start rehearsing some songs. The band members are Cutler, Toledo, Slow Drag, and this new guy who is a total jerk named Levee. As they begin to practice Levee continues to want to play songs his way and even has the ear of one of the studio producers who has promised him that he will be able to record his own album after giving him some songs. By the time MA Rainey gets there with a young lady and her nephew with a stuttering problem the tensions are way too high. Ma Rainey keeps saying that her stuttering nephew can do the intro for their song and it takes quite a few tries before he finally gets it. The audience actually applauded by the time he did. Fast forward and Ma Rainey is sick of Levee and his attitude and ends up firing him. He talks to the music producer about getting his own album and is instead offered a few dollars for his songs that he knows will go on to make thousands. This bastard ends up getting into an argument over his new shoes being stepped on and ends up stabbing Toledo to death and the show ends. I swear to you that moments before he was stabbed I thought to myself “Hey, no one died in this show that was new.” I was very wrong.

This was my favorite live show of August Wilson's. I love this cast so much. I mentioned to my lady that it feels like every year I'm coming back and watching a movie with the same actors playing different parts. It just feels so familiar and comforting. I know a lot of people don't go to live shows that often but movies, concerts, and live performances were three things I miss the most during the pandemic. I wish there was a way to watch these on video after watching them live. Also got to have some great conversations about this show on the ride home and afterward.

Amber Liekhus as Ma Rainey

Jamar Gilbert as Levee

Kai A. Ealy as Cutler

Gerald C. Rivers as Toledo

Alex Morris as Slow Drag

Bert Emmett as Irvin

Click here for previous Curtain Call.