In a jazz-era Chicago recording studio, musicians await the great blues diva.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"The play's themes are not new to the stage . . . the black American search for identity . . . and the process by which any American sells his soul for what Arthur Miller calls the salemean's dream. Mr. Wilson's style, however, is all his own. . . . He has lighted a dramatic fuse that snakes and hisses through several anguished eras of American life. When the fuse reaches its explosive final destination, the audience is impaled by the impact."
—Frank Rich, The New York Times
"Extraordinary! Ma Rainey rides on the exultant notes of the blues!"
—Jack Kroll, Newsweek
"What a joy! Brilliant . . . explosive! One of the most dramatically riveting plays I've seen in years. You must see it!"
—William A Raidy, Newhouse Newspapers
"A genuine work of art . . ."
—Brendan Gill, The New Yorker
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
—Frank Rich, The New York Times
"Extraordinary! Ma Rainey rides on the exultant notes of the blues!"
—Jack Kroll, Newsweek
"What a joy! Brilliant . . . explosive! One of the most dramatically riveting plays I've seen in years. You must see it!"
—William A Raidy, Newhouse Newspapers
"A genuine work of art . . ."
—Brendan Gill, The New Yorker
About the Author
August Wilson is the most influential and successful African American playwright writing today. He is the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences, The Piano Lesson, King Hedley II, Ma Rainy's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running, Jitney and Radio Golf. His plays have been produced all over the world.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This play shows how the rage caused by racism can be manifested in unusual ways. Each character, the blues singer and her band, has a different means of trying to gain control of a racist society hoping to, thereby, overcome it. The author's surprisingly humurous dialogue accentuates the story but, there is no mistaking the gravity of these characters's pain. Wilson's writing makes the play fast-paced and gives excellent insight to the histories of the individual characters. The use of blues lyrics and speech make them not just backdrops but characters, themselves. The abrupt ending seems a little forced, but the play is extremely entertaining.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Recognized as a great American playwright with numerous awards, August Wilson has brilliantly chronicled the black experience through decades. Depicting the 1920s, he wrote "Ma Rainey" in 1982, a real life blues singer.
The scene for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", takes place in a recording studio in 1927 where two white music executives are making a record with blues singer, Ma Rainey and a group of musicians.
Because the focus is on four male band members. it may take a while to try to put a face with each character, but within a short time, you grasp who the characters are - their values, beliefs and fears.
Ma Rainey's tone of voice is profound and nobody can push her around. Some critics report that Ma Rainey was exploitive and abusive to her band members, but I certainly did not get that impression. She was just tough and she knew how important her role was in blues music! Ma Rainey didn't take any crap from the white executives or anyone.
The dialogue interweaves with Ma's performance onstage and the band members during rehearsals. Their identities evolve and it's clear who and why they are as they share their experience with racist America and we then know their role in a racist society and industry.
A dramatic ending caps the story when the most bitter player reacts violently when another member steps on his shoes. To me, the incident seemed unjustifiable to provoke such a violent reaction by another member. It appeared out of place.
If you have an interest in the work of a great playwright or another interpretation of black experience through the decades, read more from this amazing man.
The scene for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", takes place in a recording studio in 1927 where two white music executives are making a record with blues singer, Ma Rainey and a group of musicians.
Because the focus is on four male band members. it may take a while to try to put a face with each character, but within a short time, you grasp who the characters are - their values, beliefs and fears.
Ma Rainey's tone of voice is profound and nobody can push her around. Some critics report that Ma Rainey was exploitive and abusive to her band members, but I certainly did not get that impression. She was just tough and she knew how important her role was in blues music! Ma Rainey didn't take any crap from the white executives or anyone.
The dialogue interweaves with Ma's performance onstage and the band members during rehearsals. Their identities evolve and it's clear who and why they are as they share their experience with racist America and we then know their role in a racist society and industry.
A dramatic ending caps the story when the most bitter player reacts violently when another member steps on his shoes. To me, the incident seemed unjustifiable to provoke such a violent reaction by another member. It appeared out of place.
If you have an interest in the work of a great playwright or another interpretation of black experience through the decades, read more from this amazing man.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This play is set in a studio during the early days of sound recording. Ma Rainey's back-up band awaits the overdue arrival of the so-called Queen of Blues, discussing their lives and arguing about the music scene and their places in it. The white studio execs are practically tearing their hair out over Ma's tardiness and the demands that she is sure to make when she arrives. When she finally comes, she is every bit as demanding and overbearing as we expect, but also very perceptive-she is well aware that black artists are being exploited by the very record company people who continually urge her to be "reasonable" about the amount of money that she "wastes" on personal demands while recording the music that makes them so rich.
Although it features very good dialogue and some fine monologues, nothing much happens dramatically during the course of the play. There is an explosive finale, but it feels contrived and overdone, as though Wilson didn't know where to take his characters after all of the talking stopped.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
August at his best
This is a wonderful play by August. Strong characters and dialogue and a powerful ending. A play I hope to star in one day.
Published 2 months ago by Rico L. Reid
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
I bought the book because of a lecture about blues history and culture in which it was mentioned. If you want to get some insight into the social context of the blues from an... Read more
Published 3 months ago by David Michael Boyd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Does it Boil Down to Control?
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a fantastic play by August Wilson. The themes are multiple. I chose to focus on Black History on two fronts. Read more
Published on February 7, 2011 by Grapes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good.
Very good condition.
No problems whatsoever receiving the product.
No marks. Like new.
Really good book to read with a very nice story line.
No problems whatsoever receiving the product.
No marks. Like new.
Really good book to read with a very nice story line.
Published on April 1, 2010 by Mastercard
1.0 out of 5 stars
BrokeBack Book
This book came to me falling apart. The spine was not properly attached in the binding process and the pages were falling out. Read more
Published on October 28, 2009 by R. Wolterbeek
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Heartfelt Play
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1985) is part of August Wilson's "Century Cycle" of ten plays and is set in Chicago in the 1920's. Read more
Published on September 29, 2009 by John F. Rooney
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ma Rainey Don't Bite Her Tongue, And Neither Does August Wilson
Readers of this space know that over the past year or so I have highlighted the musical works of various acoustic and electric black blues performers, mainly the former. Read more
Published on December 10, 2008 by Alfred Johnson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good Play, Not as Good as Some of Wilson's Others
This is the fourth play I have read by August Wilson, the other three being "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," "The Piano Lesson,"and "Fences" - the latter two won Pulitzer prizes. Read more
Published on August 12, 2006 by wheelockgroove
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Struggle
This play brings out the struggles of the African American musical artist,how they had to claw, bite and even fight each other and also be strong to get any recognition. Read more
Published on March 10, 2006 by N. Younge
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a question. How can I show a student of mine how strong
I would welcome suggestions to the analysis of August Wilson's " Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" at secondary school level. Read more
Published on August 18, 2000
Citations (learn more)
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- August Wilson: A Casebook (Casebooks on Modern Dramatists) by Marilyn Elkins on 26 pages
- Totem Voices by Paul C. Harrison on 8 pages
- New York Times Theater Reviews,1985-1986 by Random House Staff on 5 pages
- Modern American Drama, 1945-1990 by C. W. E. Bigsby on 4 pages
- African American Literature (The Oxford Companion) by William L. Andrews on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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