Review: “Ma Rainey” a Dark Blues Wonder
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Market Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” paints in the darkest shades of the blues.
The fictionalized story of Gertrude Pridgett, who was known as blues singer “Ma Rainey.” Born in Columbus, Ga., in 1886 she left home at 14, joining black vaudeville troupes that toured the South in those days attracted her, and by 1900, the 14-year-old singer began to gain fame.
After hearing another woman sing a poignant song about her man leaving her, she added it to her act and slowly phased out the standard songs of the day, opting for more earthy blues numbers. By the time she married William “Pa” Rainey at age 18, her performances of such songs made her one of the South’s most popular black-circuit entertainers as part of ''Ma and Pa Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues.''
In the two decades that followed, her record gained a loyal following and was a financial success at the time of her death in 1939. But the “mother of the blues” was also known as being prickly and difficult to work with both her bands and recording executives.
The play centers on a 1927 recording session in Chicago, and the first act features the band arriving ahead of the blues legend to the studio.
The band – Trombonist Cutler (Tariq Singleton), Pianist Toledo (Vaughn Newman), Bassist Slow Drag (Kerricus Howard) and Trumpeter Levee (Jaden Jones) are rehearsing and waiting for Ma, who is late. Again. Black Southern musicians who are from a place where they had stronger community connections, the men clown around as they wait for the star, spinning stories, jokes and moral tales, which lead initially to good-natured arguments.
The near-perfect ensemble is the star of this show.
But as the story unfolds it’s clear that there is a major divide between the young, hot-headed trumpeter Levee who has big dreams of fronting his own band and the more life-seasoned Cutler and Toledo.
Jones as Levee, is asked to run the emotional gauntlet, and captivates as his passions, and demons and pent-up rage, come out on stage. The actor’s experience is evident in both his gleeful dancing over having new shoes and his rage recalling the racist destruction of his family. It’s a beautiful picture of the hard to control wildness of youth.
Singleton’s powerful reaction to an attack by Levee on his deepest held beliefs featured a violent and tearful (he was actually crying) fury and pain to the role of the band’s leader and centering influence. (Until Levee pushed the wrong button).
Newman, the philosopher pianist Toledo, is the jazz shaman whose attempts to share his years of wisdom are mostly met with quizzical looks and friendly jabs from his fellow band members. His verbally fastidious meanderings on the Black experience seem to fall mostly on deaf ears. His long experience as a dancer is on display as he moves around the stage, trying his best to paint a little wisdom on the hyperbolic chatter of the band.
Howard, the bassist, brings much-needed comic relief to the stage. Much like the Gravediggers in “Hamlet,” who joke and laugh in the face of death, he is lovable and laid back, bringing the temperature down in the room a bit, especially early in the play before things start to simmer.
Despite the title of the play, the dynamic connection between these four men is the heart of this production. And boy do they make that heart beat. They make long series of conversations seamless and authentic to the point of being mesmerizing.
It’s not often that you see this level of comradery on stage, and I hope these guys can find another vehicle to work together again, because they project a vibe of real connection.
By the time she comes on stage, Regina Wells’ as Ma Rainey is a welcome temporary distraction from what is brewing between band members. Wells masters the shuffling walk that is trademark to many of the old blues singers, and her snarky dismissiveness of the record label executives brings echoes that are less funny than painful. Like most black performers of her era and those that followed, white businessmen have enjoyed most of the profits of her talent, and she can barely tolerate their very presence. She is clear she understands the situation when she tells Cutler: “As soon as they get my voice down on them recording machines, then it’s just like if I’d be some whore and they roll over and put their pants on.”
Veteran local actor Rob Gentry is excellent as the racist recording studio owner Mel Sturdyvant, is gruff and pandering to both Rainey and her band members, and clearly would prefer not to work with any of them. His imperial attitude adds fuel to the ending of the play.
Tim Spears as Irvin, Rainey’s manager and apologist to Sturdyvant, is giddy with nerves and fear as he navigates the choppy waters between Rainey and the studio. It’s a half Wally Cox, half Charles Nelson Reilly performance, and one on which Spears delivers admirably.
And Guillermo Jemmott, in his debut director’s role in this theater, made some strong choices in keeping the story and action confined and tight.
And the powerful gut-punch ending, which left the audience stunned to silence, was executed to perfection.
In the end, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is a recollection on the socioeconomic and psychological legacies of racism against African Americans which are at the root of so much of the generational self-destruction still evident today.
Market Theatre’s presentation is not to be missed and runs through Feb. 24. Tickets here.
Note: This play is not suitable for children under the age of 16 due to adult language, violence and adult themes.
