And I discovered yet another excellent production from this company. By the thunderous standing ovation, I know that the entire Opening Night assemblage felt the same way. I\u2019m glad that good theatre companies such as this one bring us August Wilson\u2019s plays from time-to-time, to keep the history of the black struggles alive in our consciousness.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_3385-scaled-e1788375365936.jpg\")
<\/a>The set. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
As I said, I had never seen this play<\/em>, but, of course, I saw the 2020 film<\/em> version. However, very surprisingly for my crazy-good memory, I do not remember it. (That lapse in memory might be because I had to close my eyes for a lot of the film, for them to not be assaulted by Viola Davis\u2019 perennially-running nose!) So I thank A Noise Within for helping me complete Wilson\u2019s ten-play cycle.<\/p>\n The setting<\/em> is a 1927 recording session for blues singer Ma Rainey, in a studio depicted perfectly by Tesshi Nakagawa\u2019s excellent multi-level set. But the story<\/em> is of soooo much more than that! That\u2019s all you need to know going in.<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re curious, Ma Rainey was a real person, (known as the \u201cMother of the Blues,\u201d) in the \u201920s, and she did<\/em> have recording sessions at this portrayed studio. But the events and other characters are fictitious. And because the location<\/em> is true, this is Wilson\u2019s only play that\u2019s not<\/em> set in Pittsburgh, but rather in Chicago.<\/p>\n Because it takes place during a recording session, with a real-life singer, many people erroneously think this is a musical. (One friend told me she can\u2019t see this show because it has \u201cloud music,\u201d even though she had absolutely no idea about it, and was totally wrong!) But it\u2019s actually a play<\/em> with a tiny<\/em> bit of music. I think there\u2019s actually only one song from Ma in the whole show, and a little bit of playing from the musicians before she shows up. And that\u2019s it. (And despite the actors\u2019 near-perfect pantomiming of playing, they are not the ones doing it in reality. The timing of their \u201cinstrument-syncing\u201d to pre-recorded music is so good that it fooled my friend! And I\u2019m sure many others.)<\/p>\n Every single performer is on the highest level. The opening night audience went berserk for them all.<\/p>\n Matt Foyer (on stairs), and then (L-R) Jamar Gilbert, Gerald C. Rivers, Francis C. Edemobi, Alex Morris, CJ Obilom, Bert Emmett, Amber Liekhus, and Kai A. Ealy. Photo by Craig Schwartz, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n But carrying the heaviest load is Jamar Gilbert as Levee, the enterprising trumpet player whom the rest of the musicians constantly make fun of. On the way out of the theatre, a knowledgeable young guy told me that he enjoyed Jamar\u2019s performance even better than that of Chadwick Boseman in the movie, and I readily agreed. (No disrespect to Chadwick at all. It\u2019s just that the play is totally amusing while the movie is just depressing. That\u2019s the difference in mediums\u2014I first noticed that discrepancy many years ago when I saw a production of Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf<\/em>, and could not believe how much humor there was! And, in this<\/em> case, Jamar\u2019s portrayal of Levee is both a riot and<\/em> very depressing.)<\/p>\n All four of the actors playing the musicians, (in addition to Jamar, there\u2019s Gerald C. Rivers as \u201cToledo,\u201d Kai A. Ealy as \u201cCutler,\u201d and Alex Morris \u201cSlow Drag,\u201d) are so authentic. If I was not already familiar with Rivers\u2019 work, (I\u2019m so sorry I missed him in Treasure Island<\/em> this summer,) I would have thought they were real<\/em> old school musicians joking around with each other, as opposed to actors speaking scripted dialogue!<\/p>\n (L-R) Gerald C. Rivers, Alex Morris, Same thing with Amber Liekhus as Ma Rainey, whose little bit of singing brought the house down. She\u2019s perfect for the title role.<\/p>\n Actually, every<\/em> cast member is at the top level, so I feel the need to laud the rest of the company, as well. Bert Emmett is especially funny as Ma Rainey\u2019s manager Irvin; Francis C. Edemobi does a great job of stuttering realistically as Ma Rainey\u2019s nephew Sylvester; Matt Foyer is spot-on as the let\u2019s-get-it-done-already owner of the studio; CJ Obilom is eye candy for the boys (and<\/em> girls) as Ma Rainey\u2019s love interest Dussie Mae; and James Nardini is an appropriately racist policeman.<\/p>\n The scenario is all very amusing, (until it turns serious,) but I couldn’t make-out all the repartee because of the dialect, which happens all the time in plays. (I\u2019ve gotten way too used to having the luxury of closed captioning on TV!)<\/p>\n There is one questionable little part about this presentation, which I believe is not in the original. At the very beginning, a trio of the characters, (not Ma Rainey,) walk down the aisle to the front of the stage, and stand in front of an old-fashioned microphone. The girl attempts to sing, but then looks like she\u2019s seen the devil or is possessed or something confusing like that. It turns-out that it has nothing to do with the story, but, since I didn\u2019t know that, I was distracted by that bit the entire time, trying to figure out what it means. But it has nothing to do with the script, so it\u2019s just a tad of annoyance for no reason that I can see. (If you<\/em> see the show, which I suggest you do<\/em>, and understand that prelude, please let me know in the Comments section below.)<\/p>\n (L-R) Kai A. Ealy, Jamar Gilbert, Gerald C. Rivers, Alex Morris, and Francis C. Edemobi. On the flip side, there are so many clever lines and bits that the audience I saw it with especially enjoyed. At one point, one of the musicians tells Levee, \u201cYou ignorant without a premise!” I can\u2019t wait to use that line myself! Later on, Toledo says, \u201cSome mens are excited to be fools.” I hear ya on that one! And all of our fave was that every time Cutler was counting the rest of the guys down to begin playing, he did it by saying, “One, two, you know what to do.” After the third time, we all said it with him! I have never heard an audience do that in the middle of a play! Fun.<\/p>\n There is one bit in Act II where Ma demands \u201cmy Coke,\u201d which brought to mind a famous part of another of Wilson\u2019s plays, Two Trains Running<\/em>. In that<\/em> one, (which he wrote four after Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom<\/em>,) the character Hambone declares over and over, \u201cI want my ham!,\u201d from a shop owner for whom he did some work in exchange for said ham. Although he never gets his ham that he begs for the entire time, Ma Rainey does<\/em> get her Coke after several attempts. (I wonder if Wilson even thought of that comparison while he was writing the latter play!)<\/p>\n Okay, I left the reason for my non-fanship of August Wilson\u2019s plays for last. And that is that I cannot stand to see misery. Even though his works are fictional, you know that people have always<\/em> have gone through real-life situations that are very close to his fictional ones. I also hate seeing people make fun of stuttering. As a former teacher, (and, actually, just as a human being,) I\u2019ve seen too much of that meanness in my life. So I do not love this<\/em> script. But my friend Celia does.<\/p>\n The Opening Night curtain call. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n So let me end on that high note. And this<\/em> one: This was Celia\u2019s first time at A Noise Within, and she was impressed. She said it lived up to my glowing reviews of the experience\u2014beautiful theatre, very comfortable seats, perfect sightlines, plenty of space, easy free parking, and fun Opening Night Party. So we both recommend that all of you go have this wonderful experience, (sans the fete,) for yourselves. Just be aware that August Wilson plays rarely end happily.<\/p>\n Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom<\/em>\u00a0running through September 20, 2026<\/strong> MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM I\u2019ve appreciated the works of playwright August Wilson since I saw his very first play in his famous \u201cPittsburgh Cycle\u201d many years ago. (With Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, I\u2019ve now seen all ten of the plays under that umbrella.) However, because of the inherent sadness of the plight of the Americans<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
Jamar Gilbert, and Kai A. Ealy. Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a>
Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n
\nAs a person who planned to name my company \u201cHappy Endings,\u201d that\u2019s really the only thing I like to see. Perhaps that\u2019s why I blocked-out the Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom<\/em> movie, (even more than the aforementioned runny nose.) I hate people ganging-up on someone and ridiculing them, even in fun; in this<\/em> case, that\u2019s what the rest of the musicians do to Levee. As amusing as much of the banter is, it wore on my soul.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nA Noise Within \u00a03352 E. Foothill Blvd.\u00a0 Pasadena<\/strong>
\n626-356-3121\u00a0 www.anoisewithin.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"