‘The Mountaintop’ honors Martin Luther King — the icon and the man
Some events are frozen in time.
As we enter Black History Month, it is shocking to realize that it was 56 years ago that Reverend Martin Luther King was murdered. For those of us who were alive at the time, it seems like yesterday.
For those not yet born, the date is barely relevant. What people remember is the impact the event made on society. In the case of MLK, his assassination had a profound effect on society that still influences the politics of race today.
However, perceptions do change over time. The most admirable people are always remembered for their achievements. Yet, as decades past, their foibles are revealed to remind us they were mere mortals who accomplished great things.
“The Mountaintop,” is that kind of play It is being produced by the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY
at Capital Repertory Theatre’s mainstage space in Albany, Feb. 1 through 11. It’s a personal look at the beloved Civil Rights leader’s inner life.
It takes place the evening
of April 3, 1968 in room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. It is the evening of the day MLK delivered his “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” speech. It is also the last day of his life.
It’s a two-person play, with the other character being a beautiful and mysterious maid who engages King in a conversation about his mission in life and his uncertainty about the future of the Poor People’s Campaign.
When the play premiered in 2009, playwright Katori Hall was condemned for showing King not only as a strong leader of a social cause, but also as a man with warts and flaws. Indeed, it opens with King uttering an expletive. During the performance, there is discussion about his “smelly feet,” and it shows him with a hole in his sock. More disturbingly, it portrays King as being flirtatious with a beautiful woman.
Michael A. Lake, a well-respected local actor, is directing the work in Albany. In a recent telephone interview, he said that this view of King is the reason he was attracted to the work. “I find that showing him as a flawed man can send an important message. It reminds us that people who do great things are able to overcome fear and doubts about themselves. It means we are all capable of greatness. Each of us can make a difference.”
Lake, an African-American, was born in Schenectady 20 years after King was shot dead. That distance of time brought him to his research for the play with a fresh eye. For example, he was unaware of the many and varied conspiracy theories about King’s death. He says he discovered one that claims King was alive when brought to the hospital. Another suggests King’s poor health contributed to his death as much as did the bullet wound.
He found factual documentation that proves the FBI tried to influence negative public opinion on King. Lake theorizes it was because of his growing criticism of the Vietnam War. He agrees that the FBI “weaponized” King’s human failings.
However, his more important revelations are about the future goals of the Civil Rights leader.
Lake says King was always “a rock star in the African-American community,” but was experiencing a decrease in public popularity at the time of his death. “He was speaking out more forcibly about the Vietnam War and how it placed an unfair burden on the lower economic rung of society. King’s agenda was becoming all-encompassing. He was preparing to speak out against the class-based culture of our entire economic and cultural system,” says Lake.
He is convinced that “The Mountaintop,” by showing King as man with common fears, tastes and worries, does not diminish him as an iconic leader of the Civil Rights Movement. However, introducing audience members to a legendary figure and showing his relationship with his family and his uncertainty about the future makes the myth more relatable to people of our times.
“It is history and it’s human drama,” is how he describes “The Mountaintop.” He says, “For me, and I’ll speak for the cast, it’s an honor to bring the story of Martin Luther King to the stage. It’s a work about an American hero.”
“The Mountaintop” plays at Capital Repertory Theatre Feb. 1 through 4 and 8 through 11. For tickets and information go to tickets. proctors.org.