In the 1920s, being a jazz musician wasn’t as glamorous as it seems. Trying to get a gig was even harder if all the band members were black.

This is the story behind ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ the first show of Syracuse Stage’s new season, which runs Sept. 9 to Oct. 4.

Timothy Bond, artistic director of Syracuse Stage, wants to shine the theater spotlight on minority groups that have been oppressed in the past. It was in that mindset that he selected the new lineup of productions.

It’s one of a ten-play collection written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. The plot is set in 1920s Chicago, and centers around the obstacles blacks faced in the jazz industry.

This marks the Syracuse Stage directing debut for Bond, the theater’s new producing artistic director. He said he chose this show because of the social relevance he sees in its characters.

‘It’s kind of a key for me in picking a play that it touches something in my heart, and that it’s relevant and important to be talking about now,’ he said. ‘History is always a way to teach us about our present, and I think especially now with Obama and his campaign, people will see a lot of that reflected in this show.’

Bond said he thinks students will be able to relate to the play’s main characters, specifically a young man named Levee.

‘The show’s got great music and great drama, and it’s got the conflict between Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainy’s old-fashioned style and Levee’s new dance style of jazz,’ he said. ‘The three younger characters in the play are terrific to identify with. I think (students will) dig the music, and I think they’ll dig how raw the dialogue is.’

The strength of this show will pilot the rest of season, Bond said. Syracuse Stage’s second show is called ‘Don’t Look Back: Stories from the Salt City’ and is a compilation of Syracuse city residents’ life stories. Other season highlights are ‘Godspell’ and ‘The Diary of Anne Frank.’

The season’s fifth production was scheduled to be ‘Souvenir,’ the life story of a famous 1930s opera singer. But a late disagreement between the playwright and Syracuse Stage involving casting and staging the show forced an alteration to the schedule. Bond declined to provide more details of the disagreement.

Bond decided to replace ‘Souvenir’ with Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Putting It Together,’ a show that strings together 30 of Sondheim’s most popular songs. That show will run Jan. 27 through Feb. 15.

Gabriela Fernandez, a sophomore acting major in Syracuse University’s department of drama, said she’s pleased with Bond’s season lineup. Bond was hired by Syracuse Stage last year, but former artistic director Bob Moss had already picked the season and was directing all of the shows. This is Bond’s first season selecting and directing productions.

‘They’re definitely interesting choices,’ she said. ‘But I like that he’s not doing all the conventional plays.’

Another acting student, sophomore Amy McGuirk, is looking forward to the theater’s season.

‘It’s like jumping into the real world, but you still have the security of being a student and learning,’ McGuirk said. ‘(Bond) is trying to make some interesting changes. Good or bad, we’ll have to see.’

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on September 8, 2008 at 12:00 pm