Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play by August Wilson, set in a recording studio in 1920s Chicago during a recording session for the titular song by the blues singer Ma Rainey. The play deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of Black recording artists by white producers; it is part of a ten-play Century Cycle (also referred to as The Pittsburgh Cycle) by the playwright, chronicling the 20th century African-American experience.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was published in the early 1980s and premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Its Broadway debut at the Cort Theatre in 1984 won a New York Drama Critics' Circle award and garnered a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In 2020, Wilson's play was adapted for film.