During an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago, tensions grow as band members await trailblazing performer and legendary “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey (Academy Award winner Viola Davis). Late in the session, fearless and fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levi (Chadwick Boseman), who admires Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to carve out a niche in the music industry, pushes the musicians to break out revealing stories that will change their lives forever. Based on the play by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson, “Ma Rainey’s Blues” celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. The film is directed by George Wolfe, adapted by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black, who were nominated for the Oscar for Fences. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, and Dusan Brown co-star, and Emmy Award winner Branford Marsalis composes the score.