Interview: Actors Amber Liekhus and Jamar Gilbert of MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM at A Noise Within

Jamar Gilbert and Amber Liekhus
Photo by Daniel Reichert

A Noise Within moves closer to completing August Wilson’s ten-play cycle with their upcoming production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the seventh of the 10 plays in Wilson’s landmark American Century Cycle to be produced by the company. Taken as a whole, the ten plays spanning 90 years from Gem of the Ocean in 1904 to Radio Golf in 1997 are not connected in the manner of a serial story. But with its Chicago setting, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the only play in the series that doesn’t take place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Wilson himself grew up.

Inspired by real-life Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, it was the first of Wilson’s plays to reach Broadway, where it received the 1984 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. Filled with humor, heart, music and some of the most electrifying dialogue ever written for the stage, it’s a powerful conversation that asks the question: Who gets to decide whose voice matters?
 

Alex Morris, Gerald C. Rivers, Kai A. Ealy and Jamar Gilbert
Photo by Abe Portillo

Set during a 1927 recording session in Chicago, Wilson transforms an ordinary afternoon into a volatile clash over race, art, power and ownership as legendary blues singer Ma Rainey battles white producers determined to control both her music and her career. Working with ambitious trumpeter Levee who dreams of a future beyond the band causes their competing visions to ignite tensions that build toward one of Wilson’s most devastating finales.

The production is directed by Gregg T. Daniel who shares, “American history is filled with examples of Black artists whose work was celebrated while they themselves were exploited, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom asks how someone holds onto dignity, resilience and self-worth when their art is treated as a commodity.”

The production stars A Noise Within resident artist Amber Liekhus in the title role, with ANW newcomer Jamar Gilbert taking on the role of Levee. I decided to speak with the two actors about their experience bringing the two iconic roles to the stage and why they believe the play teaches important lessons about Power, Music, Survival, and Legacy.
 

Here’s my conversation with Amber Liekhus (photo courtesy of A Noise Within) about her role as Ma Rainey.

Hi Amber! Thanks for speaking with me today. As an A Noise Within resident artist, you’ve worked extensively with the company. What has it meant to be part of its ongoing journey through August Wilson’s American Century Cycle?

It’s been an incredible honor to join A Noise Within’s journey through August Wilson’s American Century Cycle. Although this is my first time performing one of Wilson’s plays, I’ve long admired the impact his work has had on American theater. Stepping into Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom has challenged me in all the best ways. His writing is so rich, musical, and deeply human that it demands your full attention as an actor. It’s also been a privilege to experience Gregg Daniel’s passion for Wilson’s work. His insight and care for these plays has made this an incredibly rewarding introduction to Wilson’s world.

Which other August Wilson’s characters have you brought to the stage, at A Noise Within or elsewhere?

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is my first time performing an August Wilson role, which has made this experience especially exciting. I had the opportunity to understudy the character “Ruby” in King Hedley II, also at A Noise Within, so I had a glimpse into Wilson’s world, but this is my first time fully inhabiting one of his characters onstage. To begin that journey with someone as iconic and complex as Ma Rainey has been both humbling and incredibly rewarding. Spending time with Wilson’s writing has only deepened my admiration for the way he captures humanity with such honesty, poetry, humor, and heart.

Amber Liekhus
Photo by Daniel Reichert

Ma Rainey is such an iconic character who enters every room knowing exactly who she is and what she’s worth. As an actor, how do you tap into that level of confidence and authority on stage?

One of the things I admire most about Ma is that her confidence isn’t performative, it comes from experience. She knows exactly who she is because she’s fought to become that person. Before I even say a line, I remind myself that Ma has nothing left to prove. That changes everything about how I stand, breathe, and enter the room. As performers, we can sometimes seek validation from outside ourselves, but Ma reminds me that true authority comes from knowing your own worth before anyone else acknowledges it.

This play is set during a single recording session, but it reveals so much about the music industry and society at large. What surprises you most about the world August Wilson created?

What surprises me most is how relevant it still feels. The play takes place in 1927, but the conversations about ownership, artistic control, race, and whose voices are valued still resonate today. August Wilson had an incredible gift for writing stories that are rooted in a specific moment while speaking to universal truths. As I’ve spent time with this play, I’ve been struck by how contemporary it feels. His characters are so fully realized that you forget you’re watching a period piece; you simply recognize people.

Amber Liekhus
Photo by Daniel Reichert

Blues music is central to this story. How has learning about Ma Rainey’s life and the history of the blues influenced your approach to the role?

Learning about Ma Rainey deepened my respect for what the blues represents. It’s more than a genre of music—it’s history, resilience, joy, grief, humor, and survival all woven together. My grandmother, who helped raise me and was my first voice teacher, taught me that every song tells a story. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career. Rather than trying to imitate Ma’s recordings, I wanted to understand the woman behind them. Knowing that her real name was Gertrude, which was coincidentally my grandmother’s name, that she built a career on her own terms, and that she fiercely protected both her artistry and her business gave me an even greater appreciation for her courage and legacy.

Jamar Gilbert and Amber Liekhus
Photo by Daniel Reichert

The relationship between Ma and Levee drives much of the play’s dramatic tension. How would you describe the dynamic between these two characters, and what does it reveal about different generations of Black artists?

I think Ma and Levee are actually fighting the same battle—they just see it differently. Ma has already learned the price of success and understands that talent alone isn’t enough to protect you. Levee still believes the system will reward him if he proves himself. Their conflict reveals two generations of Black artists navigating an industry that profits from their creativity while trying to control it. That’s what makes their relationship so heartbreaking. I don’t think Ma wants to crush Levee’s dreams; I think she wishes she could spare him from the lessons she’s already had to learn. August Wilson gives us two people who both want freedom, but who understand the path to it in very different ways.

And now here’s my conversation with Jamar Gilbert (photo courtesy of A Noise Within) who portrays Levee:

Levee is driven by enormous ambition and dreams of creating his own future. What drew you to this character, and what have you discovered about him during rehearsals?

Levee is a 32-year-old man from Mississippi using his love and prowess for music as a vehicle to shape his own future. As a 32-year-old actor from Mississippi using my love and prowess for acting to shape a future for myself, I couldn’t help but get pulled into the tractor beam of Levee. He’s so beautifully complex, full of these conflicting energies of dreams and nightmares. What I’ve discovered in rehearsal is that he’s simultaneously chasing his dreams while trying to bury his nightmares.

Jamar Gilbert
Photo by Abe Portillo

This is your first production with A Noise Within, joining a cast that includes several actors with extensive August Wilson experience. What has it been like stepping into that environment, and what have you learned from your fellow cast members?

Honestly, I was both excited and intimidated to be working with some seasoned artists in the world of August Wilson. I was looking forward to being challenged and stretched. What they’ve taught me is that August’s work is a space that welcomes—and demands—all of me. All of my Blackness. Every family cookout filled with a cacophony of laughter and one-upping jokes, every bitter pill of rage prescribed at the hands of racism, every larger-than-life grandparent I’ve loved—all of it is useful in the world of August Wilson. Watching my castmates bring their own life experiences into the work so beautifully has encouraged me to bring all of myself into it, too.

Gregg T. Daniel describes Levee as the “counter-melody” to Ma Rainey in the play’s musical composition. How has that idea shaped your interpretation of the character?

It’s helped me find Levee’s rhythm and given me a launching pad to build from. Ma has this powerful, heavy, slower rhythm—very grounded, earthy energy. So in looking for the counter-melody, I started moving in the opposite direction. Levee feels fiery, quick, light on his feet, explosive in his sound and energy. The two of them almost operate like Yin and Yang.

Alex Morris, Gerald C. Rivers, Kai A. Ealy and Jamar Gilbert
Photo by Abe Portillo

Much of the action unfolds in the recording studio with the band. How has building chemistry with the ensemble shaped your performance?

The chemistry we’ve developed has created such a strong foundation of love and trust that it gives us this massive playground to explore on top of. It’s almost like how you can be really mean to your siblings because there’s so much love underneath it—or maybe that’s just me and my siblings. But I can unleash the full gamut of human emotion on these fellas, and they can do the same to me. There’s a trust that whatever gets thrown at us, we can take that emotion and use it to fuel the next moment, the next beat, the next line, all the way from the beginning of the play to the end.

Without giving away the ending, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom builds toward one of August Wilson’s most powerful finales. What emotional journey do you hope audiences experience as they follow Levee’s story from beginning to end?

I hope audiences walk away deeply connected to both the dreams and the nightmares that haunt Levee and drive him to do the things he does. I don’t necessarily need them to forgive him or agree with him, but I hope they understand how a human being arrives there.

Jamar Gilbert
Photo by Daniel Reichert

If you could change one thing about Levee, what would it be and why?

I would make Levee a better listener. He can hear a great sound emerging and capture the beauty of a new wave of jazz, but he can’t hear the peace within his own soul.

Thanks so much to both actors for their thoughtful answers!
 

Performances of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom take place August 29 through September 20 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees every Saturday and Sunday (no matinee on Saturday, Aug. 29). Four preview performances take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23, and at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26; Thursday, Aug. 27; and Friday, Aug. 28.

Tickets start at $41.75 (including fees). Student tickets start at $20. Preview tickets on Wednesday, Aug. 26 and Thursday, Aug. 27 will be Pay What You Choose starting at $10 (available online beginning at noon the Monday prior, and at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance) Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

All performances take place at A Noise Within, located at 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.anoisewithin.org/ or call (626) 356–3100.

Amber Liekhus
Photo by Daniel Reichert

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