Branford Marsalis on the Music of ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ and Chadwick Boseman’s Performance

Viola Davis is paying tribute to late co-star Chadwick Boseman.

Gordon Cox Theater EditorAudiences won’t see Ruben Santiago-Hudson on screen in the new Netflix adaptation of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” but theater fans can rest assured that the writer-actor-director — one of the foremost interpreters of playwright August Wilson’s work — had a major hand in shifting the story from the stage to the screen.

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is considered the “Mother of the Blues” for being one of the first African-American professional blues singers and among the first generation to record. Born in 1886 as Gertrude Pridgett, the singer started her career as a teenager and adopted the nickname of “Ma” Rainey after marrying Will “Pa” Rainey in 1904.

Ma Rainey’s Black BottomMa Rainey’s Black Bottom (Dec. 18th), featuring Viola Davis andthe late Chadwick Boseman is NOW PLAYING in theaters and on Netflix.FataleFatale (Dec.

Viola Davis broke down when she heard Chadwick Boseman had died. Chadwick, 43, passed away earlier this year after a secret, four-year battle with colon cancer and his 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' co-star Viola admitted she struggled to cope with the news of his death.

NEW YORK -- Like many of those involved in the making of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” it’s not easy for Viola Davis to summarize what playwright August Wilson has meant to her except to answer, “Everything.”Davis' first stage role was in Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” She made her Broadway debut in his “Seven Guitars” and won a Tony for “King Hedley II.” After playing Rose on Broadway in Wilson’s “Fences,” she reprised the role in Denzel Washington’s 2016 film, winning her an Oscar.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” hair department head Mia Neal had never worked with horsehair before until she needed to create wigs for the new Netflix film starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.Few photographs existed of the real Ma Rainey, known as the “Mother of the Blues,” but costume designer Ann Roth pointed to reading material that suggested Ma’s social status meant she would use wigs imported from Europe and they would be made of the highest quality

Chadwick Boseman‘s final movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is now streaming and his co-star Viola Davis is opening up both about his death and his legacy.

Viola Davis paid a virtual visit to “The Graham Norton Show” to promote her new Netflix movie “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis as the brazen blues legend and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role, has brought new attention to Rainey’s mystifying story. Adapted from August Wilson’s Broadway play of the same name, the film explores an intense 1927 Chicago recording session between Rainey and her band members, with Davis delivering an unapologetic portrayal of the singer. “Usually Ma Rainey and how she looks has been greatly stereotyped in cinematic history and in life,” the

Viola Davis “lost it” after receiving the news her Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-star Chadwick Boseman had died.The actor, who lost his battle with cancer in August (202020), filmed the Netflix movie, about the iconic African-American blues singer, with Davis in the summer of 2019.Speaking on Britain’s The Graham Norton Show, the actress paid tribute to her late co-star, admitting she was “so surprised” by the tragic news as she was in the dark about his illness.“When I found out he was gone, I

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (★★★★☆), even if she’s just going to be gritting her teeth before taking a bite out of their ass. Only one in Ma’s circle — among her band, her manager, her nephew, her girlfriend — thinks they should be the center of attention, and that’s Levee, her horn player.

on Netflix, playwright August Wilson’s celebration of Black lives once again takes center stage. The film, produced by Denzel Washington and starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman and Colman Domingo, chronicles the day in the life of the legendary blues singer and her backing band as they record music one afternoon in the 1920s.

Viola Davis never set out to perfectly embody Ma Rainey as she was, nor did she particularly concern herself over meeting anyone's expectations of how she would play the part. «I wanted to create a character on my own terms,» she tells ET.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.MOVIES— “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” was always going to be an event picture, even on Netflix, where it will be available Friday. That’s what happens when you mix August Wilson, Viola Davis and George C.

Denzel Washington is featured in the Dec. 13 edition of “CBS Sunday Morning”, in his role as producer of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, bringing the acclaimed stage play to the screen in a new Netflix movie starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.

remembers the day. An adaptation of August Wilson's acclaimed play of the same name, the film revolves around a recording session for the titular blues singer (played by Viola Davis) as tension come to a head with her band (Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman and the late Chadwick Boseman).There's a moment late in the film in which Boseman's Levee gets into a heated argument with his bandmate, Cutler (Domingo), about the latter's belief in God.