Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 1984 - Articles Page 4

'Blues are a way of understanding,' Ma Rainey tells her band in the second act of August Wilson's 1984 play set in a 1920s recording studio in Jim Crow era Chicago. And, indeed, Wilson uses music as a means of making sense of the African-American experience in a world scarred by racism and violence. The Portland Stage's new production, which opens its 2013-2014 season, is a tautly directed, intensely acted interpretation of Wilson's meditation on what it is like to be black in a white man's world. The play, which uses the a quasi-musical blues structure of long, seemingly improvised solos interspersed with short rhythmic exchanges of dialogue, builds slowly and tensely to its chilling climax. Along the way, it penetrates the recesses of the musicians' hearts, their troubled pasts and their tenuous presents. And it examines the high cost of 'making it' in white America, where, for all their artistic talent and success, these determined entertainers remain faceless and invisible. Delivering Wilson's prose with an engaging blend of humor and pathos, the Portland Stage Company's cast scales the poetic heights of the playwright's genius.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre kicks off its 46th season this September with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. The hilarious Broadway blockbuster from three-time Obie Award-winner Christopher Durang begins previews in the Roda Theatre on September 20, opens September 25, and runs through October 20. Durang, the renowned author of rollicking comedies such as Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and The Marriage of Bette & Boo, turns Chekhov on his head with this witty and incisive farce. In bucolic Bucks County, Vanya and Sonia fritter their lives away in their family's farmhouse amid regret, angst, and the alarming prophecies of an addled housecleaner. Enter their sister Masha, a self-absorbed movie star with her prized boy toy Spike, and the stage is set for an absurd weekend of hilarity and global warming. Acclaimed director Richard E.T. White returns to Berkeley Rep to stage the laugh-inducing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a loving homage to Chekhov's themes of heartbreak and hope.

Here are some of the familiar Broadway faces appearing in prime time tonight (Thursday, February 21, 2013)!

American Stage Theatre Company presents the sixth installment in its August Wilson Century Cycle and the first play in its 2012-2013 Spring Mainstage Series: August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON. The production is currently playing and runs through March 3, 2013.

Lookingglass Theatre Company, now celebrating its 25th Anniversary announces the addition of two new Ensemble Members: Kevin Douglas and B They are both frequent performers on the Lookingglass stage and have been members of the company as Artistic Associates.

As 2012 comes to a close, many Austin theater companies are putting together their 2013-2014 season. Given the incredible talent in this town and the large number of daring, courageous theater groups in the Austin area, here are my picks for 13 plays that I'd love to see produced in the 2013-2014 season.

In response to the CPS teachers' strike, Court Theatre is offering a special free performance of August Wilson's Jitney, directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson, for any CPS student (and one parent/guardian) with a valid CPS ID. This free matinee will be Thursday, September 13, 2012 at 10:30am at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. There is no need to RSVP, simply present a valid CPS ID at the theatre.

Court Theatre kicks off its 2012-13 season with August Wilson's Jitney directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson.Jitney is the fourth play in Wilson's Century Cycle to be produced at Court Theatre under Parson's direction. The production will run tonight, September 6 - October 14, 2012 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. The press opening will be Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

Court Theatre kicks off its 2012-13 season with August Wilson's Jitney directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson.Jitney is the fourth play in Wilson's Century Cycle to be produced at Court Theatre under Parson's direction. The production will runSeptember 6 - October 14, 2012 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. The press opening will be Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

The New York Times is reporting that Alec Baldwin will return to Broadway in the Spring of 2013 in a new production of OPRHANS, to be directed by Tony-winner Daniel Sullivan. There is no word yet on a theatre or additional cast members for the production.

New Haarlem Arts Theatre (NHAT), the professional theater company of City College of New York (CCNY), will open its second season tonight, June 14 through July 8 with 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' by August Wilson, directed by Eugene Nesmith and starring Johnnie Mae as Ma.

Goodspeed Musicals takes to the high seas with the new musical Amazing Grace. This tale about a slave trader who sees the light and dedicates himself to ending slavery will run from tonight, May 17 through June 10, 2012 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., Goodspeed's home for developing new works.

New Haarlem Arts Theatre (NHAT), the professional theater company of City College of New York (CCNY), will open its second season June 14 to July 8 with 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' by August Wilson, directed by Eugene Nesmith and starring Johnnie Mae as Ma.

Goodspeed Musicals takes to the high seas with the new musical Amazing Grace. This tale about a slave trader who sees the light and dedicates himself to ending slavery will run from May 17 through June 10, 2012 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., Goodspeed's home for developing new works. Amazing Grace is sponsored by Essex Savings Bank.

Joining Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths as the ageing vaudevillian team Willie Clark and Al Lewis in Neil Simon's award-winning comedy The Sunshine Boys are Rebecca Blackstone (Miss MacKintosh), Nick Blakeley (Eddie), Peter Cadden (Voice of TV Director), Johnnie Fiori (Registered Nurse), Adam Levy (Ben Silverman) and William Maxwell (Patient).

Two-time Tony Award nominated costume designer Carrie Robbins, and scenic, lighting, costume designer and educator Lloyd Burlingame are among the 2012 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, May 4, at 6:30pm, at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Ms. Robbins was selected to receive the 2012 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Mr. Burlingame will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design.

Lookingglass Theatre Company will present Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, written by Ed Schmidt and directed by ensemble member J. Nicole Brooks.

Lookingglass Theatre Company is set to present Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, written by Ed Schmidt and directed by ensemble member J. Nicole Brooks.

Lookingglass Theatre Company will present Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, written by Ed Schmidt and directed by ensemble member J. Nicole Brooks.

Lookingglass Theatre Company is set to present Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting, written by Ed Schmidt and directed by ensemble member J. Nicole Brooks.

After a memorable and record-breaking inaugural year, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater celebrates its 61st anniversary season with Trouble in Mind, written by playwright Alice Childress. Childress was the first African-American woman to have her plays professionally produced in New York, and she became the first woman of color to win an Obie Award, in 1956 for Trouble in Mind (Best Original Production).

What is the true meaning of justice? That is the question posed to audiences in A Time to Kill, the world premiere and first stage adaptation of a novel by John Grisham.

What is the true meaning of justice? That is the question posed to audiences in A Time to Kill, the world premiere and first stage adaptation of a novel by John Grisham.

What is the true meaning of justice? That is the question posed to audiences in A Time to Kill, the world premiere and first stage adaptation of a novel by John Grisham. By special arrangement with Daryl Roth and adapted for the stage by Tony Award winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), A Time to Kill brings the heat of the Deep South to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Directed by Ethan McSweeny (Broadway's Gore Vidal's 'The Best Man'), A Time to Kill runs May 6-June 19, 2011 in the Kreeger Theater.

Court Theatre continues its 56th season with Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production will close on April 10, 2011 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue.