The cast of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Photo by Teresa Castracane.
Describing Round House Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is somewhat difficult. I find myself overcome with adjectives like evocative, powerful, raw, searing, and utterly scintillating. I urge all fans of DMV theatre to attend this incredibly important and deeply memorable production. Wilson is an icon of American theatre for a reason—this play is a huge part of that reason.
I find myself overcome with adjectives like evocative, powerful, raw, searing, and utterly scintillating. I urge all fans of DMV theatre to attend this incredibly important and deeply memorable production.
There is music everywhere in this play, from the actual music played to the amazing voices that grace the stage. The most compelling music, however, is arguably that which occurs between songs. Director Lili-Anne Brown’s production understands that this 1920s recording studio is more than a setting. The creative team, actors, and crew devise a pressure cooker in which race, money, art, and anger are compressed tightly together until something explodes.
At the center of the production is Nicole Michelle Haskins as Ma Rainey, the formidable blues singer who grasps onto and wields her power with an unabashed sense of agency. At the same time, Ma keenly understands the tenuous nature of this power, and she understands how easily her White manager and producer could cast her aside in favor of the next big thing. Her driving ambition is to ensure this never happens.
Haskins’ “Ma” is at once funny, demanding, and deliberately difficult, yet such qualities never feel like diva theatrics. Facing down an industry eager to profit from her voice while limiting her authority, her refusal to cooperate easily becomes a bona fide form of resistance. Not to mention, her incredible singing voice tells a difficult and still beautiful story.
Admittedly, the most volatile presence is Yao Dogbe’s Levee. Dogbe’s energy is angry, anxious, hopeful, and all-consuming. His performance is one for the books. The clashes between Ma and Levee provide this play with a cyclone of a center from which no one can escape. Craig Wallace’s Cutler offers a sagacious authority, still deeply fearful of what he cannot control, while Ro Boddie’s Toledo brings an intellectual dimension to the band’s arguments. As Slow Drag, Derrick Truby embodies light and music. His laugh and smile are infectious, despite whatever else may be going on. The band’s conversations wonderfully and sometimes wildly meander through religion, race, music, and history. Still, they always return to those themes most intimately related to the power of music.
Arnel Sancianco’s multilevel set gives us a strong, hierarchical visual. The control room on the upper stage constantly reminds audiences who’s in charge during this volatile historic period, despite who may be making the music in the band room down below. Costume designer Samantha Jones brilliantly captures the spirits of these characters. And musical director Cedric D. Lyles takes us on a profound journey through those spirits’ complex progressions.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is ostensibly about a recording session, and yet this theme of making music becomes something much deeper, something beyond just music. Under Brown’s sharp direction, we are led through the ups and downs of the characters’ lives in such a way that the stories themselves transform into soulful, incredibly provocative songs. It is a theatrical experience I will not soon forget. Highly recommended.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
Advisory: Contains profanity, racial slurs, sexual content, and references to racial violence and sexual assault.
August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” runs through October 18, 2026 at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Hwy, Bethesda, MD 20814. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 240.644.1100, email boxoffice@roundhousetheatre.org, or go online.
