Diane and I saw the play version of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in 1995 at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo, NY. This more recent movie version on Netflix features Viola Davis as the Diva of the Blues, Ma Rainey. Davis plays Ma Rainey as capricious and moody as a legendary blues singer could be. Chadwick Boseman delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as troubled trumpeter, Levee Green, a member of Ma Rainey’s band, The Seasoned Georgia Jazz Band.
Most of the action centers around a recording session in Chicago at the Paramount recording studio in the 1920s. The white men who run the company try to cater to Ma Rainey’s whims because they know her records will earn them a lot of money.
As in many of August Wilson’s plays, there’s an undercurrent of violence in the action as race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers trouble the characters.
Have you seen Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom? GRADE: A
On my list at Netflix. It’s gotten great reviews.
Steve, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM was a ground-breaking play when we first saw it in the 1990s. The movie version highlights these factors.
I’m so far behind on streaming stuff that I’m just getting around to “The Queen’s Gambit”, so I’m a couple of months behind the curve. This is a definite Must See, and I’ll get to it eventually. My TO BE WATCHED stack now rivals my TBR stack.
Michael, you and I have a lot in common! Our DVR is 51% full (fortunately for me, it’s mostly HALLMARK movies). But THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT is still waiting to be watched. AMAZON delivered a bunch of books that when added to my Read Real Soon stack is threatening an avalanche!
I liked it a lot although I have to agree with Megan, it remained more a filmed play than a movie. I thought that with FENCES too. But I have loved all of his plays that I’ve seen including the fairly obscure GEM OF THE OCEAN. But most especially THE PIANO LESSON.
Patti, I agree with Megan, too. Apparently Netflix is going to provide all of August Wilson’s plays in movie versions.
Yes, it was a filmed play, but filmed brilliantly. Unlike so many stars, Davis did not try to glamorize her performance. Ma Rainey has been described as looking like the makeup was melting off her face, and that is exactly what they achieved with Davis. And Boesman (who looks almost painfully thin) was fantastic.
Glynn Turman (Toldeo) played the corrupt Mayor in THE WIRE. He was married to Aretha Franklin for six years. We saw Colman Domingo’s one man autobiographical show A BOY AND HIS SOUL, about his difficult childhood in Philadelphia and his escape through music, off-Broadway in 2010.
Jeff, I’ve read some criticism of Viola Davis’s performance, but I thought she captured the essence of Ma Rainey perfectly. And you’re right about Boseman looking sick and emaciated.
Boseman died soon after, having fought cancer for several years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman
Now we’re waiting to see the movie/adaptation here in Europe.
Wolf, I think this movie version of MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM is well done. You and your wife will enjoy it.
My reply disappeared. Bah. No, won’t see it, no access. No damn vaccines either. Maybe April. BAH!
Rick, hopefully the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine will be approved. They have 100,000,000 doses ready to go. We’re going to go from a shortage of vaccine to a glut!
But it’s only 65% effective, instead of the 90-95% of the other two! Won’t matter, against CDC recommendations, Oregon Governor has seniors in third group, behind all health care workers, all teachers and school employees and all other front line workers such as grocery store employees. It will be many months before I, at 75, will get a shot. Also, Oregon has very few doses for some reason.
We got our first snow yesterday. I have to go in for labs today. More books came in at library and I’m overwhelmed.
Rick, Biden is upping out vaccine allotment by 60% next week. I’m sure your State will receive more, too.
They did this play at the Milwaukee Rep and we walked out.
I was expecting more music so was disappointed.
The woman I went with saw it in Florida but the lesbian aspect was really downplayed there.
Beth, I suspect the cast is a key element to the success or failure of MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM.