August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at the Taper
L-r, Jason Dirden, Glynn Turman, Damon Gupton, Keith David, and Lillias White in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Photo by Craig Schwartz “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”: a paean to the blues (a review) August Wilson is one of our most acclaimed playwrights, not just for the African American community but for everyone of any color. Even after his last play (“Radio Golf”) and his death in 2005, his work continues to be widely performed. (He was also the second of the two great Wilsons to be on the cover of Easy Reader… the other of course being Brian) August Wilson had an exceptional relationship with the Center Theatre Group, actively working with them on their productions of his plays, which included “Seven Guitars” and “Gem of the Ocean.” He’s best known as the author of “The American Century Cycle,” ten works, each set in a different decade of the 20th century. Now, one of the early ones returns, and it’s the first time it’s been presented at the Mark Taper Forum. Directed by Phylicia Rashad, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” takes place in Chicago, 1927, inside of a recording studio and a band rehearsal room downstairs. Wilson wrote it in the early 1980s, and it pretty much set the tone for…
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