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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play Paperback - 1985

by August Wilson


Summary

The time is 1927. The place is a run-down recording studio in Chicago. Ma Rainey, the legendary blues singer, is due to arrive with her entourage to cut new sides of old favorites. Waiting for her are her black musician sidemen, the white owner of the record company, and her white manager. What goes down in the session to come is more than music. It is a riveting portrayal of black rage . . . of racism, of the self-hate that racism breeds, and of racial exploitation . . .

From the publisher

NOW A NETFLIX FILM STARRING VIOLA DAVIS AND CHADWICK BOSEMAN From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences and The Piano Lesson comes the extraordinary Ma Rainey's Black Bottom--winner of the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. The time is 1927. The place is a run-down recording studio in Chicago. Ma Rainey, the legendary blues singer, is due to arrive with her entourage to cut new sides of old favorites. Waiting for her are her Black musician sidemen, the white owner of the record company, and her white manager. What goes down in the session to come is more than music. It is a riveting portrayal of black rage, of racism, of the self-hate that racism breeds, and of racial exploitation.

Details

  • Title Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play
  • Author August Wilson
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 112
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Plume Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 1985-04-24
  • ISBN 9780452261136 / 0452261139
  • Weight 0.23 lbs (0.10 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.02 x 5.37 x 0.35 in (20.37 x 13.64 x 0.89 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
  • Library of Congress subjects African Americans, Racism
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 84027156
  • Dewey Decimal Code 812

Media reviews

"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

About the author

August Wilson was a major American playwright whose work has been consistently acclaimed as among the finest of the American theater. His first play, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for best new play of 1984-85. His second play, Fences, won numerous awards for best play of the year, 1987, including the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. Joe Turner's Come and Gone, his third play, was voted best play of 1987-1988 by the New York Drama Critics' Circle. In 1990, Wilson was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize for The Piano Lesson. He died in 2005.
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)

by Wilson, August

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)

by Wilson, August

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)

by Wilson, August

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play

by Wilson, August

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom : A Play

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom : A Play

by August Wilson

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play

by Wilson, August

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Play (Plume)

by August Wilson

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9780452261136 / 0452261139
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