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Given Viola Davis’ near-perfect straight white teeth and smooth skin, it’s no small feat morphing the actress into early 20th century blues singer Ma Rainey in George C. Wolfe’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” especially as there are only a handful of images of her in circulation.
Rainey was a true-to-herself warrior, and the wear-and-tear of that physical, emotional and spiritual daily fight to conduct her life and artistry as she pleased showed up in her image and look heavyset and gruff, painted and proud.
To get Davis there, in an unforgiving timeline of barely more than two weeks, would seem all but impossible. Hair department head Mia Neal, who did much of the hair and wig designs, teamed with Sergio Lopez-Rivera, who handled Davis’ heavy, often streaked makeup, and Jamika Wilson (Davis’ hair) to create not just Rainey’s distinctive look but also a sense of what it meant to accomplish what she did against such a harsh environment.
Symphony Space will present a special conversation between Tony Award-winning director, playwright, and producer George C. Wolfe and Tony Award-winning stage, film, and television actor John Benjamin Hickey, on Wednesday, April 28, at 7pm EST. The hour-long virtual event is part of This Is New York, the Symphony Space series in which some of the world s greatest writers, actors, comedians, chefs, politicians, activists, and others discuss their work and the ways our city inspires it. It premieres at symphonyspace.org and will be available on-demand through May 12. Tickets are $15 ($12 for Symphony Space members) and can be purchased here.
This Is New York exemplifies Symphony Space s unique role in the cultural landscape-as a convener of wide-ranging artists in memorable one-time-only events. In it, a series of luminaries host multiple revealing, one-on-one conversations for the public. This Is New York launched in Fall 2020 with actress-comedian Jane Curtin in live-streamed dialogu
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