Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is considered the "Mother of the Blues" in the United States in the 1920s in MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM. Making her way north, like many other Black people of the time, she's about to record a new album at a Chicago studio with her band, including Cutler (Colman Domingo), Toledo (Glynn Turman), Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and newcomer Levee (Chadwick Boseman), an ambitious young musician who wants to steal Ma's spotlight. Tensions run high as Ma arrives late to the studio after a minor fender bender, bringing along her nephew, Sylvester (Dusan Brown), whom she insists be given a spoken line on the recording despite his stammer, and her girlfriend, Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), whom Levee's got his eye on, too. Ma starts making other demands on exasperated studio owner Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) and her manager, Irvin (Jeremy Shamos), while the musicians start arguing amongst themselves.