Milwaukee Rep's Slick, Stylish 'Ma Rainey'

Recording studios brought a different level of immediacy in the 1920s. Microphones were nearly as big as your head, and there was no acoustic tile foam or digital audioeven multitrack recording wouldn't come about for another few decades. Playwright August Wilson captures this essence in his astute 1982 work Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The drama makes its way to the Quadracci Powerhouse this month in a slick, stylish co-production by the Milwaukee Rep and Actors Theatre of Louisville.

The focal point of the stage is a ground-floor recording studio, which is accompanied by a booth and a band rehearsal room. Wilson's script is a bit stiff and formal in its overall composition, but it also contains brilliant texturesand the cast latches onto the better aspects with great finesse. Anthony Fleming III exudes grace as Levee, a progressive practitioner of jazz on the edge of its acceptance into the mainstream. A.C. Smith plays the role of Slow Drag, a city musician who grew up on a farm and brings along a solid work ethic.

Along with Levee and Slow Drag are Toledo and Cutler, a pair of classy, older musicians played by Alfred H. Wilson and Ernest Perry Jr. Stresses develop between the four men when the title character arrives in the form of Greta Oglesby, an actress who carries the necessary inner diva to bring the blues legend to the stage.

The Milwaukee Rep's production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom runs through March 27 at the Quadracci Powerhouse. To reserve tickets, call 414-224-9490.