Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman Strive for Blues Perfection in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ Trailer

Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman star in the new trailer for the upcoming adaption of August Wilson’s play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which opens in select theaters this November before arriving on Netflix December 18th.

Davis plays the legendary blues musician and the film is centered around an afternoon recording session in Twenties Chicago during which Rainey grapples with her white manager and producer for control over her music and career. With Rainey running late to the session, tensions begin to rise among the musicians waiting for her, much of it spurred by a young trumpeter named Levee (Boseman) who dreams of striking it big on his own.

The trailer teases these dueling storylines, as both Ma and Levee try to navigate a ruthless and exploitative music industry. And of course their journeys ultimately collide when the session does finally start, and it turns out some of the musical differences between Ma and Levee are only compounded by the fact that Levee also has eyes for Ma’s girlfriend, Dussie Mae (Taylor Paige).

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was directed by George C. Wolfe. It also stars Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Glynn Turman, and Dusan Brown. The film will be the last to feature Boseman, who died in August after a battle with colon cancer at the age of 43.