Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Christina Johnson takes center stage as Ma Rainey. The production is set in 1927, and Ma Rainey is recording new sides of old favorites in a rundown studio in Chicago.

Justin Emeka returns to Karamu to direct and makes his Karamu acting debut as Toledo. Emeka pictured along side fellow actor Cornell Hubert Calhoun III as Cutler.  Calhoun an accomplished actor, producer, director, award winning playwright, filmmaker and Karamu alumnus.

De'Aja Mon'e, a Baldwin Wallace University senior, returns to Karamu as Dussie Mae, Ma's lover and travel companion.

Dussie Mae (Mon'e) and Levee (Owens) share a brief romatic relationship.

Darryl Tatum returns to Karamu as Slow Drag, Ma's bass player, a light hearted funny musician. Slow Drag (Tatum) operates at a slow pace but is quick to follow Ma's direction.

Cyril Amanfo makes his debut performance at Karamu as Sylvester, Ma's stuttering nephew. Throughout the play, Ma (Johnson) supports Sylvester (Amanfo) with tough love. Ma even encourages him to take the mic and sing his heart out.

In 1923, Ma Rainey became one of the first Black artists to sign a contract with Paramount. Ma went on to record over one hundred blues records.

Throughout her career, Ma Rainey, the "Mother of the Blues" fought against racism and exploitation to retain control over her music.

Band members rehearse and spend time storytelling, laughing,  philosophizing, and arguing with each other, all in the spirit of brotherhood. 

Levee (Owens) insists on rehearsing a different version of one of Ma's songs, a version he wrote.

Tension rises among the band members after Levee (Owens) humiliates Cutler (Calhoun).

Levee (Owens) lashes out in a rage of displaced anger, feeling exploited by social injustices and abandonment, stabbing and killing Toledo (Emeka). August Wilson reminds us to "confront the dark parts of yourself and work to banish them with illumination and foregiveness."

"Ma Rainey's blues were simple, straightforward stories about heartbreak, promiscuity, drinking binges, the odyssey of travel, the workplace and the prison road gang, magic and superstition..." William Barlow wrote in Looking Up at Down: The Emergence of Blues Culture.