Search results
The best study guide to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
- Act 1
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a play that centers around Black...
- Plot Summary Plot
Get all the key plot points of August Wilson's Ma Rainey’s...
- Themes
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom takes place roughly 60 years after...
- Quotes
Find the quotes you need in August Wilson's Ma Rainey’s...
- Symbols
The Song (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) The band’s...
- Power and Exploitation
The musicians in August Wilson’s play Ma Rainey’s Black...
- Race and Identity
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom takes place roughly 60 years after...
- Collaboration vs. Independence
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom examines the difficulties of...
- Levee
Levee is a young Black trumpet player in Ma Rainey ’s band....
- Act 1
- Synopsis
- Themes
- Plot
Ma Raineys Black Bottom, the first of Wilsons plays to win wide acclaim, is among his finest work. Set in a recording studio in the 1920s, the story takes place over the course of an afternoon, as a group of musicians and the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey record several songs. Much of the play takes the form of discussions and arguments among th...
Ma Raineys Black Bottom contains many of the themes that run throughout Wilsons subsequent work: the devastating effects of racial discrimination, the callous indifference with which white society has traditionally regarded black Americans, and the idea that the key to black self-reliance and salvation lies in developing a sense of heritage and his...
Sturdyvant, a record producer, and Irvin, Ma Raineys agent, are in a recording studio, discussing arrangements for the days recording session with Ma Rainey. Sturdyvant wants the session to go smoothly, and Irvin assures the producer that all is under control. The band members arrive and begin to prepare for the session. Levee Green, the young trum...
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is set in late 1920’s Chicago; the action originates in the bandroom and studio of a record company. Gertrude (Ma) Rainey is due to arrive momentarily to cut new...
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1984. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Century Cycle by August Wilson – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording studio in 1920s Chicago, and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers.
People also ask
What is Ma Rainey's Black Bottom about?
When did Ma Rainey's Black Bottom come out?
Why did Ma Rainey refuse to take a song?
Why does levee play a 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'?
