Casting Call for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" Play

Blues Singer The legendary “Mother of the Blues.” Fierce, commanding, sensual, funny, and shrewdly strategic. Ma understands the exploitative nature of the white-controlled music industry and refuses to surrender authority over her voice, body, or art. She is unapologetically Black, Southern, and self-defined.

Trumpeter Ambitious, charismatic trumpet player with dreams of transforming popular music and escaping poverty. Levee is energetic, flirtatious, volatile, stylish, and ‘wounded’ beneath his bravado. His hunger for validation and success tragically collides with ‘the system’ and his unresolved trauma.

Trombone Player/Bandleader The practical, steady member of the band. Cutler functions as mediator, protector, and moral anchor within the ensemble. He is religious and grounded in survival wisdom, he understands the consequences that comes with crossing racial Boundaries.

Pianist The intellectual philosopher of the band. Toledo is educated, reflective, and politically conscious, often delivering incisive commentary on Black identity, migration, history, and assimilation. He sees himself as part of a collective Black future, though the others sometimes dismiss him.

Bass Player Easygoing, humorous, and observant. Slow Drag often diffuses tension with wit and charm, but beneath his laid-back demeanor is a survivor shaped by experience. He acts as a social glue within the band.

Ma’s younger girlfriend. Attractive, flirtatious, and aware of the power her sexuality gives her in male-dominated spaces. Though often underestimated, Dussie Mae navigates survival through charm, instinct, and adaptability.

Ma’s nephew. Earnest, prickly, dignified, and ‘country’. He possesses a pronounced stutter. Ma insists that he perform the spoken introduction on her recording despite pressure from the band members who have little patience for him and from the producers to replace him. Represents innocence and the importance of dignity and familial protection.

Ma’s manager. Diplomatic, and perpetually attempting to manage conflict between Ma and the recording studio executives. He presents himself as supportive while ultimately serving the economic interests of his own.

Owner/producer of the recording studio. A perpetrator of the exploitative machinery of the music business. Sees Ma Rainey and Levee primarily as commodities and Profits.

A Chicago police officer who is the embodiment of institutional authority with a particular charge of keeping non-whites in line. He is ‘on the take.’