On Ma Rainey ´s Black Bottom

8/8/2019 On Ma Rainey s Black Bottom

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"THEY ALWAYS BE PROUD FOR WHATTHEY DONE"

Maria de Ftima Pais

Essay on the play "Ma Raineys Black Bottom" byAugust WilsonAugust /October 2000 Author: M deFtima Pais

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Introduction

Playwright August Wilsons first commercial endeavour, Ma Raineys Black Bottom `, was more than a financial

success. It was nominated for three Tony Awards in 1986,had a very successful run on Broadway, has been presentedby numerous secondary drama venues and brought manyissues of Black America to the stage in a manner that istrue to the experience and honours the personalities of thepast.When the play opened, the cast was made up of relativelyunknown players and a playwright looking for his firstsuccess. All being neophytes, they brought together a

production that has true social value.The story revolves around the Blues legend, GertrudeMa`Rainey. Her career began at the turn of the centuryand included fame and fortune as one of the first of uniquesub-class of American society: Blues musicians. Ma iscounted among the best of the genre in that area, includingBessie Smith, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

The title of the play is taken from a song written andperformed by Ma Rainey, which was based on a dance -typemovement (in the same category as a shimmy`1that washer signature move and was included in all herperformances).

1-Setting

The play is set in Chicago in 1927.That was the height ofthe "Harlem Renaissance" era when the Black culture wasbecoming firmly established as a separate, but far fromequal, entity.

The play focuses on Gertrude Ma`Rainey, one of the first ofthe great Blues singers. The Blues had been a blackphenomenon for two decades at the point where this storytakes place. It was a major component of the club sceneswithin the Black culture, as well as it was extremelyimportant to rural culture. The troops of singers and playerswould go on the road` to any small juke joint or emptyroom in a vacant barn to perform the music that wassingularly the story of the Black culture. Ma` has been on

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the road and has graciously condescended to spend the dayat the studio, "cutting a side".Ma Rainey was the Queen of the Blues scene at the timethe play takes place. Loved and adored by the people, she

was just an irritation to the white record company that wasproducing her albums. However she was the star, themoney maker and, as such, had every right "to lord it over"the white gentleman in the booth.

The action of the play takes place in a recording studio,with the band in a lower room, walled off by a glasspartition from the record company employees andmanagement. This scene is a graphic metaphor for thesociety outside the walls as well. The white man "boss" sits

in his comfortable chair up above the black "folks" whowork for him. It is his show, but he doesnt have the power.Ma` sets the stage, dominates it and is in control, as muchcontrol as there is. She is an earthy woman, by herdemeanour and her language, who is every inch aware ofher importance in the scenario of the lives of these peopleand she plays it to the hilt . She IS the Queen and hercostume reflects her regal standing. Even for rehearsals shewears the full regalia of her office: sequins and satin, somuch gold around her neck that the audience wonders howshe can keep her head up and the classic headband thatwas her "signature". She arrives, as all the stars do, with anentourage consisting of a nephew she has promised couldsing the intro, her white manager and the comely DussieMae, her female lover.

The band is there before Ma, as is the white owner/producerin the booth above. The studio is crowded , the actorsrestless as she takes her time in getting situated and readyto work. She manipulates the power structure in a blatantmanner that sets the feeling for the play by havingeveryone wait while the producer sends someone to "fetchher a coke". There is an aura of smouldering rage that wellsaround the opening dialogue as the characters areintroduced and personalities set one against the other.Sturdyvant is the white owner of the recording studio andthe producer of the record, a man immersed in his own self-importance and superiority who is irritated almost beyondcontrol by the manipulations that Ma puts him through.

Irvin is Ma Raineys white agent, who is a milquetoast of a

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when that person is poor, black and a woman. She knowsshe has talent and perseverance because she has "paidthe dues" necessary to get to that small studio booth withthat particular group of people. She is arrogant in her

comfortableness with the role of star, but she is also awoman who has lived the experiences that brought her to"the Blues" in the beginning.Gertrude Ma` Rainey was born very poor in the late 1800`sand started living the life on the road` at fourteen, doingvaudeville and travelling with the Blues troops throughoutthe rural South. At the time of the play, she is middle-aged(late thirties), not an exceptionally good-looking womanand, although at the peak of her career, she is feeling the

hands of time tick for herself and the music. Her past"brushes with the law" become important as the storyenfolds, bringing to the fore the lifestyle that many of thestars` followed. The underlying message is that she haslived a hard life and she is:a) going to take advantage of her fame andb) you damn well better not get in her way.Levee, as the opponent in the central conflict, brings ahistory that justifies and implements his rage. His motherwas raped by a gang of white thugs when he was youngerand he has not been able to progress past the anger he feltat a society that allows such abuse and the fact that he waspowerless to help her. The intermingling of personal andsocietal repercussions and reasoning is overwhelming forhim. He is angry at himself, at the world and its inherentinequality, at the Blacks who refuse to see the situation andthose who refuse to do anything to bring about change.

The band is made up of a few players that form a corestudio band that has worked together and has worked withMa before. Levee is a back-up player who does not share asextensive a history as the others, doesnt know the musicas well and is, too, caught up in his own ego and ambitionto be able to recognize these factors and so is frustratedand feeling pressure to perform, which, unfortunately,brings out a short temper and a retreat into behaviour non-conducive to the smooth running of the session.

3-Dialogue

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The focus of the dialogue is on Ma Rainey. She is a strong,powerful woman who will not take any back talk from whoshe thinks of as minor players. She will tell them "where togo" in no uncertain terms, how to get there and how fast

they had better go. She has a full range of the streetvernacular and uses the most descriptive of expletives tocommunicate her thoughts and wishes. She is raunchy`,brassy` and earthy` and it is her dialogue that defines herthusly. The woman can swear , and does. There is a giveand take in most of the less prominent dialogue that issituated just beyond the borders of banter. Especially ifLevee is involved, even when he is trying to be casual andconversant there is an edge that is offensive because it is

so underhanded, or seems to be.The play relies heavily upon conversation and story-telling.Each of the players has a story and the combination of thestories leads to a complete picture of the black experiencein the early part of the twentieth century. The dialogue usesa rhythm of intensity and relief that allows for the audienceto become involved through empathy and interest thatbuilds in the tension. The interjection of conflict between MaRainey and Sturdyvant adds a sub-plot to the character ofthe dialogue that mirrors both the Black attitude concerning"the man" and the racism of the white man living off thelabours of the blacks he would prefer not to have contactwith. Ma is almost but not entirely insulting andcondescending while Sturdyvant is oblivious on a consciouslevel, even though his irritation shows he recognizes theintent on a sub-conscious level.

4- Desires

Most of the players in the drama are there to play music,put in a days work and go home. They want the session tomove along in a reasonable fashion and then leave toresume the daily activities of their lives. Sturdyvant , aswell, wants more than anything to get the music on tape soas to finish with the woman who upsets him. His other, andmost compelling desire, however , is to make money. Thatis the bottom line, the motivation for his presence and thereason why he sits in the booth. He is not involved in the

music or the culture that produces it, nor does he care

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about the people and the issues involved. They aremusicians first and people last to him.For Ma this is one more act in the power play where she isstar, writer and producer. These are her days and she wants

to take full advantage of them. She wishes to bask in thelimelight and to have a feeling of control over thecircumstances of her life.All of her behaviour points to her need to feel importantand, if not loved, at least adored and pampered. Levee alsowants to have control, which provides the major conflict. Hesees himself as the best person there and, as such, feels heshould be the director. He wants recognition for his talentand for the struggles he feels he has had to endure during

his lifetime. He aspires to have his own band some day-playing a newer, dance-friendly style of music and he wantsrestitution for the rape of his mother and the discriminationhe faces everyday. These how and when, though , are soephemeral that they are beyond hope and/ orunderstanding.Cutler wants order and calm, feels that it is hisresponsibility to maintain direction and purpose but has notbeen able to follow through on those responsibilities. DussieMae wants attention and the feeling of importance that ismeant to go being with` a famous person. She basks inthe attention she gets from Levee simply because it focuseson her and what she feels is her best attribute- her beauty.

The stuttering nephew wants to be a star and feels he hasan opportunity to make it` that he is not taking advantageof and may not have the talent to accomplish.

5- Intention

The main issue of the play is the interaction of the playersas seen as a microcosm of society in general, the tensionsand the problems that assault a black person in a worlddominated by whites.August Wilson provides a shared base of music and workenvironment setting that includes the white audience evenwhile it serves as an example of the subtle discriminationsand the pressures of the not so subtle racism that confrontsone fourth of the population. The secondary issue is

concerned with the transference of the past into an

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understanding of the present. The underlying conflicts ofthe play finally erupt in an act of violence where one blackman attacks another, from a sense of desperation that is asrelevant to the youth of today as it was to the characters in

the play. Not necessarily the situations but the emotionalcontent and frustration at lack of control are issues that areabundant in todays American society. Violence increasesand Wilson provides insight into many of the componentsthat bring that violence out into the world.

Through the auspices of the genre of the Blues, Wilson hasattempted to educate the audience concerning issuespertinent to the Black culture and experience. The mostblatant of these is the inequality and condescending

attitude that is seen toward the black performers by thewhite management. The allegory of southern plantationowner and slave is somewhat reinforced by Ma Raineysinsistence that whites are incapable of understanding theBlues. Whites cannot fully understand an experience theyare incapable of living fully. However, through theendeavours of people such as August Wilson, there is apossibility that an understanding and empathy can developthrough which the society may heal the wounds that racismhas caused and stop the violence that results. Such wassurely the intention of the author.

Conclusion

Because of its ending the play is considered a tragedy. Thelack of actual physical action requires that the play rely onstory -telling and character development to move it to theconclusion. The interplay between the characters actstowards this goal and is successful in building tension sothat the end is not surprising, but contains an element ofshock. Levee, by taking his aggressions on an innocentparty, and one that is also black, when his anger stemsfrom his feelings towards whites, is sufficient to cause theaudience to stop and consider the implications of the actand the underlying meaning of the play.

Bibliography

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Work cited: Wilson, August ,Ma Raineys Black Bottom: A Playin Two Acts ,New American Library, New York, 1985

-Elkins, Marilyn (ed.), August Wilson: a casebook, Garland

reference library of the humanities; vol.1626, 1994

-Shannon, D. Sandra, The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson,Howard University Press, Washington,1995

-Harrington, Joan, "I aint sorry for nothing i done"-AugustWilsons Process of Playwriting, Limelight Editions, New York,1998

-Pereira, Kim,August Wilson and the African-AmericanOdyssey, University of Illianois Press, 1995

-Nadel, Alan (ed.),May All Your Fences Have Gates- Essays onthe Drama of August Wilson, University of Iowa Press, 1994

This is an original document. It may however be usedfor teaching purposes.

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On Ma Rainey ´s Black Bottom

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