"MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM" RUN EXTENDED AT CLASSICAL THEATRE OF HARLEM

he Classical Theatre of Harlem's production of August Wilson's first play, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is doing so well that its run has been extended until November 2^nd. I suggest that you take advantage of this bit of information by immediately getting yourself a ticket! You won't be sorry you did.

The play takes place on a single day in 1927 at a rundown recording studio in Chicago, and the plot is very simple. The legendary blues singer Ma Rainey - who actually existed, by the way, though the play isn't strictly autobiographical - is coming in to cut some new sides of old favorites, including her version of the then-current dance hit, the Black Bottom. Her sidemen, as well as the recording company owner and her manager, wait for her to get there. She arrives, they record, she leaves, the end.

Oh, but such a lot happens in between, culminating in something one would not expect!

For one thing, we get a glimpse of what goes on when some 60-something musicians, portrayed admirably by Charles Turner, Allie Woods and Henry Afro-Bradley, who have been working with each other for years, are cooped up together, waiting. Add to the mix the young whippersnapper, played by the very talented Leopold Lowe, who comes in with a whole new tempo and style and wants to shake the music up and do it differently from the way they've always done it before. There is the joking around, the story telling, the teasing that sometimes crosses the line, and more. As in life itself, the conversation is a mingling of the superficial and the philosophical, the petty and the profound.

And after Ma Rainey, played by Tamela Aldridge, arrives with her nephew Sylvester (Ben Rivers) and the young, sexy Dussie Mae (Roz Davis) in tow, things really heat up! These actors, too, do an outstanding job in bringing their characters to life.

I don't want to give too much away, but be prepared to find yourself in stitches one moment, yet deeply stirred the next. The main thing is, through these characters we're taken back into what it was to be Black in America during the 1920s - and some of it isn't as far from what goes on currently as one would wish, or as some people in this country pretend it to be. There is a lot to recognize and identify with today.

This production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was directed by Arthur French, who appeared in the original company when it was first performed on Broadway in 1984. He has also appeared in Mulebone and The Iceman Cometh on Broadway and in the films Carwash and Malcolm X as well as several plays at Classical Theatre of Harlem. He directs about one play a year.

French is of Caribbean heritage; both of his parents were born in St. Vincent, though his mother was raised in Barbados. "I'm a first generation American," he said, "the first one in the family born here." He grew up in Harlem, just down the hill from the Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) where the play is being performed.

He said that directing this play was a very positive experience. The thing that impressed him most was the commitment of the cast members. They only had about 3 1/2 weeks to prepare, and under Equity Union rules, which limit how long you're allowed to work, they only had 3 hours a night to rehearse.

But many of the cast members, just on their own, came in early to go over their scenes together before the rehearsal began. And even after the rehearsal was over and he himself had left, they continued working unofficially with each other on their parts or with the Music Director, Kelvyn Bell. He was invaluable, teaching the men the technical things about how to handle their instruments as though they'd been playing music all their lives, and explaining what it's like to be sidemen on the road just with each other all the time - how arguments flair up, people get on each other's nerves, and how they're looking for some kind of fun just to keep going.

Each cast member gave it their all, even the person, Michael O'Day, who has the smallest part and could have just come in to rehearse his scene and left. Instead, he helped the other actors with their lines, and when someone had to work late and miss a scene, he would sit in and read in their place. "He simply typified the commitment of the entire cast," said French. "That was the spirit of the whole production; it was just a joy. And it's what I think makes it what it is. I give all the credit to the cast."

All the hard work certainly paid off, for each person in the cast is terrific. Several are on stage for practically the entire production, which means they have to strongly establish and maintain their characters, but also fade into the background when appropriate to give someone else center stage. Some have monologues that are real tour de forces, all of which are exceptionally well done. There are also some high intensity scenes that require very close, exact ensemble work among many cast members. This is not easy to carry off, but they do it.

The technical aspects of the production are excellent as well. I was particularly struck by the very fine set design by Anne Lommel, and so glad to be able to hear every word, even as the actors sounded very natural in their speech. Kudos to the Sound Designer, Matt Kraus.

The high quality of the material and of the production itself makes this a piece one can be proud to appear in, and proud to see.