Ma Rainey and her band return to The Goodman this spring in a major revival—and a reunion of two Chicago theater legends. Goodman Family Resident Director Chuck Smith directs August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with Associate/Music Director Harry J. Lennix. The all-Chicago cast of favorites includes E. Faye Butler (Fat Ham), Al’Jaleel McGhee (Revolution(s)), Scott Aiello (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s Hamlet), David Alan Anderson (Writers Theatre’s Stick Fly), Matt DeCaro (The Cherry Orchard), Marc Grapey (The Iceman Cometh), Tiffany Renee Johnson (Holiday), Jabari Khaliq (Toni Stone), Kelvin Rostin Jr. (Gem of the Ocean) and Cedric Young (Inherit the Wind). Understudies will be announced at a later date. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom appears March 28 through April 26 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre; opening night is April 6. For tickets ($34-$104, subject to change), visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or visit GoodmanTheatre.org/MaRaineys. The Goodman is grateful for the support of Allstate Insurance Company (Lead Corporate Sponsor), The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust (Lead Sponsor of IDEAA Programming), PAXXUS (Corporate Sponsor Partner) and WBEZ Chicago (Media Sponsor).
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is really the August Wilson play that hits me in the heart, because directing it allowed me to work directly with him for the first time on one of his shows,” said Goodman Family Resident Director Chuck Smith, who directed The Goodman’s 1997 production, which featured Lennix as Levee and broke box office records of the time. “I hope the audience comes away from this play understanding just how hard it was for Black musicians in the 1920s, having no control over their music. August loved music—I believe this play was his first major success because it is based on music. Something we did right with the 1997 show was having the actors learn to play their instruments—and this cast is going to do the same.”
It’s 1926 Chicago, and Ma Rainey, “The Mother of the Blues,” takes her time getting ready to record. Tensions and temperatures rise as the musicians recount tales of rage, joy, betrayal and faith in astonishing stories and a heart-stopping climax. Chicago legends Chuck Smith and Harry J. Lennix reunite to make magic again with a “genuine American masterpiece” (Chicago Reader).
“The setting of this play is now a century ago, and I’m interested in exploring what’s changed in our society and what hasn’t in that time,” said Harry J. Lennix. “What Ma Rainey means to me as a play, and why it remains my favorite of August Wilson’s plays, is the music, the setting in Chicago and the great time Chuck Smith and I had with it in the past. It reminds me of a very potent, robust time in The Goodman’s history. I’m not a director and I’m not the actor that I am now without that experience working with Chuck on this play.”
Chuck Smith is The Goodman Family Resident Director, Board of Trustees member and resident director at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota. Mr. Smith's Goodman credits include Objects in the Mirror, Two Trains Running, Pullman Porter Blues, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark and The Amen Corner, among many others. He also served as dramaturg for the Goodman’s world-premiere of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Regionally and locally, he has directed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, MPAACT, American Blues, Black Ensemble Theatre, and Congo Square Theatre Company, among others. Mr. Smith is an Emmy Award-winner, a recipient of the Paul Robeson Award and was the 2001 Chicago Tribune Chicagoan of the Year.
Harry J. Lennix is a distinguished film, television stage actor and producer. He returns to Goodman Theatre following productions of Inherit the Wind, August Wilson’s How I Learned What I Learned (produced by Congo Square in association with The Goodman) and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by Chuck Smith. Recently at Steppenwolf Theatre, he appeared in Purpose. He also appeared in Purpose on Broadway and was Tony-nominated in the Lead Actor in a Play category. He starred for 10 seasons on NBC’s The Blacklist. Moviegoers know Lennix from The Justice League, Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions, Ray and The Five Heartbeats. Lennix also recurred for 7 seasons on the Showtime series Billions. Lennix made his Broadway debut in Radio Golf. He has directed A Small Oak Tree Runs Red, The Five Heartbeats and The Glass Menagerie. He has starred in King Hedley II at the Mark Taper Forum and in 2001 he played in Cymbeline for Theatre for a New Audience at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In July 2014, Lennix created Exponent Media Group.
Cast of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (in alphabetical order)
Directed by Chuck Smith
Associate/Music Director Harry J. Lennix
Scott Aiello...Policeman
David Alan Anderson...Cutler
E. Faye Butler...Ma Rainey
Matt DeCaro...Sturdy
Marc Grapey...Irvin
Tiffany Renee Johnson...Dussie Mae
Jabari Khaliq...Sylvester
Al’Jaleel McGhee...Levee
Kelvin Roston Jr....Toledo
Cedric Young...Slow Drag
CREATIVE TEAM
Co-Sound Designer...Michael Bodeen
Co-Sound Designer...Rob Milburn
Costume Designer...Evelyn Danner
Lighting Designer...Jared Gooding
Set Designer...Linda Buchanan
Line Producer...Malkia Stampley
Assistant Director...Lo Williams
Assistant Lighting Designer...Trey Brazeal
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Neena Arndt is the Dramaturg. Angela Adams is the Production Stage Manager. Imani Ross is the Stage Manager.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman’s accessibility efforts.
ASL-Interpreted...April 17 at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Audio-Described...April 18 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:30pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset.
Spanish-Subtitled...April 18 at 7:30pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign.
Open-Captioned...April 19 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
ABOUT THE GOODMAN
Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.
Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.
But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.
The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.
The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman’s descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.
Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women’s Board President; and Kelli Garcia is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals.