Ma Raineys Black Bottom 2020 Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey Academy Award winner Viola Davis Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music As the band waits in the studios claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee Chadwick Boseman who has an eye for Mas girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives Adapted from two time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilsons play, MA RAINEYS BLACK BOTTOM celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let societys prejudices dictate their worth Directed by George C Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige and Dusan Brown co star alongside Grammy winner Branford Marsalis score