During her time, Ma Rainey was known as “the Mother of the Blues,” but she was relatively unknown for years until being rediscovered by Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright August Wilson.

Wilson, “theater’s poet of Black America,” introduced and reintroduced many people to the legendary blues singer in his 1982 play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” It was the first of 10 plays that were part of Wilson’s series called “The Pittsburgh Cycle,” sometimes referred to as the Century Cycle, which chronicled the African-American experience during each decade of the 20th century.

A revival of the play, a co-production with the Olney Theatre, is now playing at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland. The show’s run was recently extended until Oct. 18.

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown and starring Nicole Michelle Haskins as Rainey, the play is set in a Chicago recording studio in 1927. It is a fictionalized account of a very tense recording session of her song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Theresa Merritt originated the role of Ma Rainey in the 1984 Broadway production, earning a Tony nomination for best performance by a featured actress in a play. In 2003, Whoopi Goldberg took on the role in the Broadway revival and Viola Davis was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in the 2020 film adaptation.

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, was born sometime in the 1880s in either Georgia or Alabama. There is uncertainty on both counts. What is certain is that Rainey left an indelible mark on music and culture in the 1920s and beyond with her powerful voice, distinctive style and dynamic showmanship.

Decades after her death in 1939, Rainey was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and the Roll Hall of Fame, and, in 2023, was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

On Oct. 6, Round House will host a Black Out performance which is “designed to purposely prioritize the needs of Black-identifying audience members to be seen and celebrated in theater spaces and to provide a supportive and safe space for Black-identifying theatergoers to experience a show made by Black artists in fellowship with each other,” according to a Round House Theatre press release.

August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Round House Theatre runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an intermission. Tickets can be purchased at roundhousetheatre.org or by calling the box office at 240-644-1100 Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.

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