‘The Mountaintop’ spies on MLK’s last night on earth
In his famous “Mountaintop” speech, delivered April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. declared that he’s not concerned with longevity, he just wants to do God’s will.
In Katori Hall’s drama “The Mountaintop,” King discovers that’s easier said than done.
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre opened a gripping new production of Hall’s play, directed by Dimonte Henning, about the last night of King’s life, set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. It’s frequently funny, espouses a powerfully radical vision of love and, surprisingly for a story about a great advocate of non-violence, includes some top-notch stage combat.
Hall has said that, without diminishing his greatness, she wanted to humanize King. Bryant Bentley (excellent here previously in Renaissance Theaterworks’ “Cost of Living” in 2023) is the right man for the job, giving us a stressed-out road warrior with a hole in his sock, desperate for a cigarette, frantically checking the lamps and fixtures to see if he’s being spied on.
Camae (N’Jameh Russell-Camara), a new hotel maid, arrives with the coffee he ordered. Their chat starts flirtatiously, but soon both he and we realize she is more than she seems. He wonders and accuses: Is she an “incognegro?” An FBI spy? No, she says slyly, she’s working for a much more powerful organization.
The message she has to deliver is both shocking and sad; Russell-Camara is wonderful at showing Camae’s compassion for the man.
Without allowing too many flights of oratory, Hall’s script reminds us of King’s ever-expanding vision, antiwar and pro economic justice.
But the essential human drama here is King’s struggle to accept his mortality. Hall’s play echoes what happened to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane: God would not take the cup away but sent a messenger to strengthen him.