Playwright Katori Hall takes us to Memphis on a stormy, thundering evening on April 3, 1968, where fate brings us to the last night of the outstanding journey in the life of the brilliant Martin Luther King Jr.
Arriving at his tacky room at the Lorraine Hotel after his momentous, hugely well received Mountaintop speech, King (a brilliant Adrian Roberts) is elated and restless as he checks the room for bugs in his phone, shudders at the thunder of the storm, tries to get comfortable and calls room service for a cup of coffee. Enter house maid Camae (incomparable Simone Missick) and the moments build with unexpected twists, bearing of souls and humor.
Director Anthony J. Haney brings out a haunting chemistry holding the obvious sexual tensions that hover on the brink of more important things at hand with his magnificent two-person cast.
“The Mountaintop” brings us a human King with all the vulnerability and debility of a man who knows what must come to pass and how to make it happen, he wants desperately to be a part of the dream and we know he will not realize his aspirations, and the baton of his visions must be passed on to others.
This beautifully offered theatre with a brilliant two-person cast should be on the top of your must-see entertainment list.
Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Through: April 7
Tickets: $23-$73
Details: (650) 453-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.
