Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

by August Wilson

Overview

Recording session by black blues great Ma Rainey for white-owned studio, setting for exploration of racial relations and conflicts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780573681134
Publisher:	Concord Theatricals
Publication date:	10/11/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	124
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.26(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)

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.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

“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 salesman'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

“Tremendous...magnificent!”—Clive Barnes, New York Post

From the Publisher