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August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Chicago, 1927. Tensions and temperatures rise during a blistering recording session as the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey, and her ambitious trumpeter, Levee, clash over control of her music, exposing the emotional and economic exploitation Black artists faced in America. An exploration of dreams deferred, cultural identity, and the power of the blues, August Wilson’s electrifying masterpiece, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, returns in a brand-new production more than 40 years after it first raised the roof of the American theater in its world premiere at Yale Rep.

University Theater
$ 20-65
08:00 PM - 10:30 PM, every day through Oct 24, 2026.

Event Supported By

Yale Repertory Theatre
203.432.1234
yalerep@yale.edu
University Theater
222 York St.
New Haven, Connecticut 06511