Fri 10/8-Sun 10/31
August Wilson (1945-2005) was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century who turned out numerous plays that are frequently performed today. They included his Pittsburgh Cycle, a series ten plays set in each decade of the century, all but one taking place in the Black community of Pittsburgh where he grew up. Two of them, 1984’s Fences and 1987’s The Piano Lesson won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
The single exception is his 1984 play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, taking place in Chicago in 1927. And that’s the one that’s opening at Karamu’s Theatre this Friday October 8. In this play, Rainey’s band waits for her in the recording studio, acting out their interpersonal dramas. When she arrives, things go haywire and end badly. It’s described as “Wilson’s riveting portrayal of rage, racism, self-hatred and exploitation.”
The play runs at Karamu Thursday-Sunday through October 31. For tickets go to karamuhouse/ma-raineys-black-bottom.