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Summary
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Exploitation
Race and Identity
Collaboration vs. Independence
History, Tradition, and Change
Summary
Analysis
Ma Rainey’s manager, Irvin, sets up a microphone in a recording studio. Meanwhile, Sturdyvant—the owner of the studio—talks to him from the control room, instructing him to keep Ma “in line” when she arrives. He doesn’t want to deal with Ma’s antics, like the time she came to a recording session and argued about what songs to sing. She even refused to do more than one take per song because her throat was sore. She also tripped over a cable and threatened to sue. Irvin assures Sturdyvant that he’ll take care of everything, telling him to just stay out of the way.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a play that centers around Black musicians in the 1920s. However, its opening scene focuses on two white studio executives, Sturdyvant and Irvin. Sturdyvant’s disparaging remarks about Ma set the stage for the rest of the play, as he speaks in a condescendingly racist way about her. He implies that she’s unpredictable and untrustworthy, as if she’s a mere child. Moreover, his sense that she’s uncooperative implies that he feels a sense of authority over her—a power dynamic that will lead to tension throughout the play.
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Sturdyvant talks about Ma’s trumpet player, who he thinks has a fresh new sound—a sellable sound. Times are changing, after all, and people want music that sounds new and “wild,” not like the last record they made with Ma. Sturdyvant thinks that record was terrible, but Irvin reminds him it made a lot of money. Still, Sturdyvant is upset because it didn’t sell well in New York City, since there’s so much exciting new music coming out of Harlem. But Ma still makes the record label lots of money, so Irvin thinks Sturdyvant should relax. Grumbling a reminder that Irvin has to keep Ma in check, Sturdyvant drops the matter.
It becomes clear in this exchange that Sturdyvant is concerned about money above all else. Accordingly, he wants to record whatever kind of music he thinks will become popular. Because the music industry is in a state of change, he’s eager to capture new styles that will captivate the right audiences. His interest in cornering the market in Harlem hints at the way race intersects with his business interests—after all, Harlem was a predominantly Black neighborhood of New York City during the 1920s (when the play takes place). Sturdyvant doesn’t want to record fresh musical styles for artistic reasons, then, but because he thinks these styles will help his record label sell albums in Black neighborhoods.
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Cutler, Slow Drag, and Toledo arrive at the studio. Irvin nervously asks these band members where Ma is, but Cutler just says she should be coming soon. Irvin then gives them a list of songs and shows them to the band room, where they can rehearse while they wait for the trumpet player, Levee, to arrive. Once Irvin leaves, Toledo, who’s the only one who can read, takes the list of songs and reads them aloud. Cutler is worried because there are some songs on the list that Ma didn’t approve, but Slow Drag tells him not to worry, reminding him that Ma will surely get whatever she wants.
Levee is late because he’s out buying new shoes with money he won from Cutler in a game of craps; he thinks these shoes will impress a young woman he met through Ma. He tried to flirt with her at a club the night before, but the young woman had no interest because she could tell he wasn’t rich and successful.
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Levee finally arrives. A confident man who’s younger than his bandmates, he carries a box containing his new shoes, and though he boasts about how nice they are, the others make fun of him for spending his money so lavishly. Still, he puts on his shoes and shouts that now he’s really ready to make music—a statement that, at the very least, pleases Slow Drag, who wants to wrap up the recording session as quickly as possible. Last time, he says, they stayed all day and most of the night just to get the songs right.
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Looking around, Levee remarks that the studio executives changed the layout of the band room. This sends Toledo on a philosophical tangent about how things are always changing—even the air around them. This statement annoys Levee, and he tells Toledo that he reads too many books. But then Slow Drag interrupts and urges his bandmates to rehearse. Levee, however, doesn’t want to practice, since it’s unnecessary; these songs, after all, are simple and outdated. For Slow Drag, though, all that matters is that they record the songs quickly and earn their money.
Taking issue with Slow Drag’s focus on money, Levee boasts that what he cares about is making art. He criticizes Cutler for including Slow Drag in the band, suggesting that Slow Drag sounds like an uncultured musician from Alabama who doesn’t know anything about real art. But Cutler defends Slow Drag—Levee just needs to be quiet and play the songs as they’re written. He’s nothing but a “dime a dozen” trumpet player, not some kind of “virtuoso.”
Levee sees himself as much more than an expendable trumpet player. He has real talent, he tells Cutler. He even gave Sturdyvant some of his songs, and Sturdyvant agreed to record them once Levee rounds up a band of his own. All he has to do is finish writing a couple songs, and then he’s going to hand those over to Sturdyvant, too. This doesn’t impress Cutler, who reminds him that—for now—he’s in Ma Rainey’s band, not his own. And that means doing what he’s told, playing the way Ma wants him to.
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Cutler’s point doesn’t faze Levee, who says he knows what kind of band he’s in—all he needs to do is look at someone like Toledo to see that he’s in a boring, old-fashioned band. Firing back, Toledo bets Levee that he can’t even spell “music.” They each put down a dollar, and then Levee confidently says: “M-U-S-I-K.” Because nobody in the band but Toledo can read, though, they’re unsure who won the bet. Toledo thus lets Levee keep his dollar, putting up with the young man’s bragging.
The band gets down to rehearsing, but Levee doesn’t want to. He’d rather finish the song he’s working on for Sturdyvant. Cutler tells him this is unacceptable—he’s in the band, so he has to rehearse just like everyone else. After this conversation, Slow Drag tries to get Cutler to give him some marijuana, reminding him of all the things they’ve been through together. Toledo notes that this resembles an African tradition of calling upon various gods. If the gods are “sympathetic” to the reasons they’re being called, they will help the person. Deciding that he’s “sympathetic” to Slow Drag’s request, Cutler gives him a joint.
Finally, the musicians start rehearsing. But they only get several bars into the song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” before stopping—Levee is playing something entirely different. He impatiently tells the rest of the band that they have to play the song his way, which is more exciting and modern. Irvin even told him that the studio wants his version. But Cutler doesn’t care. The band will play what he tells them to play, not what Levee says. Levee, for his part, urges them to look at the list of songs Irvin gave them, insisting that it’ll specify the version they’re supposed to do. But Cutler doesn’t look at the list, instead telling Levee to just play whatever he says.
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Unable to agree how to play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the band rehearses a different song. But Irvin interrupts to ask about Ma, clearly nervous because of the pressure Sturdyvant is putting on him. Before he goes upstairs, Cutler asks which version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” they should play, and Irvin confirms that Sturdyvant wants Levee’s arrangement. Levee gloats about this when Irvin leaves, but Cutler tries to make him understand that it doesn’t matter what Irvin says—Ma will have the final say.
Levee doesn’t understand why Ma will have the last word. After all, Sturdyvant is the one putting out the record, so surely his opinion matters most. Slow Drag sides with Cutler, believing that Sturdyvant will have to make do with whatever Ma gives him. Unsure of what Ma wants, though, Cutler says that—for now—they should rehearse Levee’s version.
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Toledo dislikes the way Levee deferred to Irvin and Sturdyvant. He argues that the Black man will never “find out who he is and what he’s about” if he always looks to white people for approval. He insinuates that Black people should live for themselves instead of acting however white people expect them to act. Levee, however, insists that he was just telling Cutler which version they’re supposed to play. Again, Cutler gets annoyed, since Levee doesn’t seem to understand who’s in charge. But Levee is perfectly clear—in his own mind, at least—about who’s boss: Irvin and Sturdyvant.
Before they rehearse Levee’s version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Slow Drag’s bass string breaks. Levee makes fun of him, saying that he would take care of his instrument if he were a true musician. On his way across the room to get a new string, Slow Drag steps on Levee’s shoe. Furious, Levee instantly starts buffing his shoe with a rag while the others make fun of him for spending his money on something so lavish. A sensible man, Slow Drag argues, would wear shoes like Toledo’s. This appalls Levee, since he thinks Toledo’s shoes are big and clumsy, like a farmer’s—he would never wear them. But Toledo doesn’t care. He likes his shoes, and that’s all that matters to him.
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According to Levee, nice shoes help people dance well. But Toledo thinks Black people are too focused on always wanting to have a “good time”—a mentality he finds dangerous, saying that people “get killed having a good time.” There has to be more to life than just having fun, he believes. None of the other band members like this idea. But Toledo suggests that this fixation on “good times” keeps people from thinking about how to improve life for Black Americans.
Slow Drag isn’t quite as pessimistic as Toledo. He believes that Black people will be all right because they’ve already survived so much hardship. Having a good time, he says, is just a way to make life feel rewarding. White people, however, don’t know how to have fun. Levee jumps on this idea, suggesting that Toledo is like a white person because reading so many books has made him forget how to have fun.
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For all Toledo’s talk about improving life for Black people, Levee accuses him of not actually doing anything to achieve this. He talks about a lot of supposedly important ideas, but he lives essentially the same lifestyle as everyone else in the band. However, Toledo argues that he’s just one person—in order to address the problems Black people face, everyone needs to come together. Toledo can’t fix everything on his own, which is why everyone has to chip in.
The band continues to bicker, Levee managing to annoy all of them with his overly confident, stubborn viewpoints. Eventually, Toledo calls him the devil, and Cutler wholeheartedly agrees. Slow Drag chimes in and says that he once knew someone who sold his soul to the devil, then launches into a story about a man named Eliza Cottor from Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Eliza used to carry around a huge bag of papers—documents bearing the bloody fingerprints of anyone who sold their soul to the devil. As Slow Drag tells this tale, Levee periodically interrupts to ask where he might find this Eliza Cottor. He, after all, wouldn’t mind selling his soul—a blasphemous sentiment that upsets Cutler.
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Eliza Cottor used to live on a farm, supporting himself by putting shoes on horses and mules. But after selling his soul to the devil, he suddenly dressed in the fanciest clothes around and lived a rich, lavish life. He purchased a huge house and spent all his time with beautiful women. When a man who worked for him fell in love with one of the women Eliza used to see, Eliza killed him. But the sheriff who came to arrest him simply let him go, and when his day came in court, the judge let him off the hook. Whenever anyone asked why Eliza had changed so much from his farming days, he didn’t hide the truth, telling them that he sold his soul to the devil.
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Cutler wants to know what became of Eliza Cottor, assuming that a man who sold his soul to the devil must have suffered in the end. Toledo, for his part, isn’t so sure, since he knows the devil is powerful. Slow Drag confirms Toledo’s intuition, clarifying that Eliza is still out there. The last Slow Drag heard, the man had migrated north with his big bag of bloody fingerprints and a pocketful of cash, offering anyone $100 to sell their soul to the devil.
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Levee wishes he knew where to find Eliza Cottor. Not only would he sell his soul, he’d also help Eliza get others to do the same. Cutler doesn’t like this talk, promising Levee that God will punish him for such blasphemy. But Levee pays this no mind, daring God to do something to him.
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Irvin calls down to tell the band that sandwiches have arrived upstairs in the studio. He then talks to Sturdyvant, who’s upset that Ma hasn’t come yet and reminds Irvin that he’s supposed to be responsible for her. When Toledo appears to grab the sandwiches, Irvin asks about Ma. But then a buzzer rings and Ma enters with a policeman, a young woman named Dussie Mae, and Ma’s nephew Sylvester. Ma is infuriated, shouting at Irvin to tell the policeman who she is.
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After great confusion and commotion, it emerges that Sylvester was driving Ma’s car and got into an accident. The policeman claims Sylvester hit the other vehicle, but Sylvester insists that he, Ma, and Dussie Mae were the ones who got hit, not the other way around. As they talked to the police officer after the accident, Ma tried to hop into a taxi with Sylvester and Dussie Mae, but the cabdriver refused to serve Black people, so he didn’t go anywhere. The policeman claims that Ma assaulted the driver, but Ma, Sylvester, and Dussie Mae insist that he simply fell down. The policeman also doubts that the car they were in even belonged to Ma in the first place.
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Irvin takes the policeman aside. The officer was just bringing Ma to the station but decided to stop here as a “favor” to Irvin, wondering if Ma is really as “important” as she claims. Irvin slips some cash into the officer’s hand and asks if they can put the whole ordeal behind them, promising to come by the station himself after the recording session. With a wink, the officer takes the money and says there’s no need for Irvin to visit the station.
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After the policeman leaves, Irvin greets Ma and tells her to take a seat while the band finishes rehearsing, but she rejects this, instead ordering Irvin to make some calls about her damaged car, instructing him to make sure it’s in perfect working order by the time the recording session is over. He quickly agrees, assuring her that he’ll take care of everything and that she should relax.
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Back in the band room, the musicians fight over the sandwiches, as Levee tries to take more than his fair share. Toledo notes that there will never be any “leftovers” when Levee is around, then delivers a monologue in which he argues that Black people are like “leftover[s] from history.” He presents an extended metaphor about the earth producing foods like carrots, peas, and potatoes, all of which eventually come together in a stew. After this stew is made, he says, history is over. And yet, there’s more stew than a person can eat—there are carrots and potatoes still floating in the broth. Toledo thinks Black people are these leftovers, suggesting that nobody knows what to do with them; white people will eat them, but once they’re full, they’ll cast Black people aside.
None of the band members grasp the significance of Toledo’s metaphor. When Cutler tries to get them to rehearse again, Levee claims that, because he’s nothing but a “leftover,” he’s going to sit this one out. Plus, he already knows the songs. Finally, though, Cutler convinces him, and they start playing Levee’s version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
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Upstairs in the studio, Ma takes off her shoes and sings about the discomfort of “sharp-toed shoes.” Meanwhile, Dussie Mae walks around and inspects the contents of the dimly lit studio. Ma admires Dussie as she wanders, eventually promising to buy her pretty new dresses when they go down to Memphis, since Dussie Mae has to look beautiful if she’s going to travel with the band. She’ll also buy her new shoes, and she’ll make sure they’re good ones—Ma, after all, knows what it’s like to go around in bad shoes. With this in mind, she puts on some slippers.
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Irvin returns and assures Ma that everything is sorted out with her car, though she warns him that it better look as good as new. She also chews him out because she can hear the band rehearsing Levee’s version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” This isn’t the way she wants to record the song, and she won’t be convinced otherwise—no matter what Irvin says about how Levee’s version is lively and exciting. Instead, Ma is going to have Sylvester do a spoken-word intro, despite the fact that Sylvester has a heavy stutter. Irvin tries to persuade her that times are changing and that listeners want something different, but Ma doesn’t care. If Levee wants to play in his own style, he can strike out on his own. Regardless, the band will play what Ma wants them to play.
Irvin doesn’t let the matter go. He and Sturdyvant decided that it would be best to go with Levee’s version, since that’s what will sell. But Ma reiterates how little she cares what Sturdyvant or Irvin think—what they say doesn’t matter to her at all. If Sturdyvant doesn’t like what Ma gives him, then she’ll pack up her things and go on tour instead of cutting the record. Having said this, she takes Sylvester downstairs to meet the band. As she goes, Irvin tells her everything will be ready in 15 minutes, but she rejects this; the session will start when she says.
Downstairs, Ma explains that the band won’t be playing Levee’s version of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and she doesn’t care about Levee’s objections. She simply tells Cutler to teach Sylvester his part, then goes back upstairs, leaving Levee to complain that playing the song the traditional way is just some “old circus bullshit.” Nobody in the North will like this “tent-show nonsense.” Again, Cutler doesn’t care what Levee says. The band will play whatever Ma wants, and Levee’s ideas about art and creativity don’t matter—he’s just here to accompany Ma.
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Levee threatens to quit the band, but nobody cares. Toledo even calls his bluff, pointing out that Levee won’t quit because he needs money to buy polish for his fancy new shoes. The band turns its attention back to rehearsing, as Cutler tries to teach Sylvester his part, which goes: “All right, boys, you done seen the rest…Now I’m gonna show you the best. Ma Rainey’s gonna show you her black bottom.” When Sylvester tries it, though, he stutters on almost every word. This pleases Levee, but the rest of the band doesn’t pay attention to him, instead focusing on rehearsing even through Sylvester’s difficulties.
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Sturdyvant comes downstairs and says he’s glad to see that the “boys” are rehearsing. “Yessir!” says Levee, jumping to attention. “We rehearsing, We [sic] know them songs real good.” Sturdyvant also shows interest in Levee’s songs, as Levee gives him the parts he’s been working on. Sturdyvant is eager to take a look, promising to get to them as soon as possible. When he leaves, the band makes fun of Levee for sucking up to Sturdyvant and treating him like a powerful enslaver. But Toledo defends Levee, feeling that the young musician is just like everyone else in the band: “spooked” by white men.
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Levee doesn’t like the suggestion that he’s “spooked” by white men. He claims to be ready to lash out at white people if necessary, but the band doubts this—after all, Cutler points out, Sturdyvant called him a “boy,” and Levee did nothing but try to please him. According to Levee, though, how he treats white people is none of Cutler’s business. He can call white men “sir” if he wants. Still, the band keeps making fun of him for being scared of white people.
Hitting his chest and yelling, Levee says nobody in the band knows what he’s dealt with in his life. He’s been dealing with white people since he was eight years old, when a mob of white men tore into his home and raped his mother. Levee’s father was out of town, but he’d told Levee to be the man of the house. As he watched the white men assault his mother, he grabbed a hunting knife and tried to slit one of their throats. He managed to slice through one of their shoulders, but then one of them wrestled the knife out of his hands and slashed him across the chest. Levee lifts his shirt to reveal a long, nasty scar. There was so much blood, he explains, that the white men got scared and left.
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When Levee’s father returned from his trip, he learned the names of the white men who raped his wife. He didn’t do anything at first, instead moving the family out of the county. He even went around and bid farewell to one of the men who had raped Levee’s mother, smiling at him as if nothing had happened. But after the family moved, he came back, hid in the woods, and planned to kill the eight or nine men. He managed to kill four before getting captured. The remaining white men hanged him and set him on fire. His father, Levee says, wasn’t “spooked” by white men—and neither is he.
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Levee learned from his father that sometimes it's best to smile and say “yessir,” all the while planning to rise above. And this, he says, is why the band should leave him alone when it comes to handling white people. Nobody says anything for a moment, all of them taking in Levee’s story. And then, breaking the silence, Slow Drag plays his bass. “If I had my way,” he sings, “I would tear this old building down.”
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