By J.A. Jones, Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG – It’s a good time to find inspiration in the journeys and human challenges of the leaders of the African American Civil Rights movement. In Katori Hall’s THE MOUNTAINTOP at American Stage we meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a fantastic journey through his last night on earth.
Fans of the Starz network’s P Valley may know Katori Hall’s name as the creator of the popular TV show that takes place in a strip club.
But Hall was a playwright first; P Valley was created from her play Pussy Valley, and Hall’s other theatrical works include the Tony-nominated Tina: Tina Turner musical and Hurt Village.
Her award-winning two-character play, THE MOUNTAINTOP is playing in a short run at American Stage until November 24. Beautifully directed by Keith Arthur Bolden, the play takes place on the night before Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel.
The production’s two actors – Brandon Burditt as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Kayland Jordan as the hotel maid Camae – hold up the language and mystery well.
But overall, the play’s strength lies in its journey into the otherworldly, “out of time-into the future” ending, so wait for it.
Halfway through we’re taken into a whole new realm; its powerful and emotional ending succeeds as we are brought face-to-face with what’s happened after Martin, in our lifetime. 
In this way, the play perfectly exemplifies the far-reaching, past-to-future, Sankofa theme of afrofuturism (In fact, it’s a production perfectly timed with the 3rd Tampa Bay Afrofuturism Festival.)
The play’s power was visible in a recent matinee, where an audience of students from Academy Prep were able to connect throughout — easily brought to laughter at King and Camae’s unexpected and silly flirtations and outrageous behaviors – and equally enrapt as the past-is-now-past-is-future media wall brought King’s journey to the present.
In this, the play is a lesson in creating successful theatre for new audiences, even as theatres around the country struggle to maintain people in their seats. American Stage has also provided a study guide for THE MOUNTAINTOP, to help audiences process through the play.
With its contemporary street language and swagger sensibilities, the play only found a home in the US in 2011, after an award-winning run in London. The play also made Katori Hall the first Black playwright to win an Laurence Olivier award in 2010.
Its spicy language and sexual innuendo is startling when aligned with the idea of Dr. King – even if it is completely believable – which was part of what gave it a hard time getting an American production when it started shopping for producers in 2009.
Themes of class competition – “street vs bougie” – are also at play in a much more explicit way than much we’ve seen in depictions of King’s journey.
And while the play offers an imaginary depiction of his last night at the Lorraine Motel, it’s not inconceivable that some of the dynamics at “play” seem possible.
With a short run, you have time to see the production until November 24. It’s worth it.
Cast:
- Brandon Burditt as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
- Kayland Jordan as Camae
Creative Team:
- Katori Hall – Playwright
- Keith Arthur Bolden – Director
- Steven Mitchell – Scenic Designer
- Catherine Girardi – Lighting Designer
- Wendell C. Carmichael – Costume
THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall, directed by Keith Arthur Bolden, plays at American Stage’s Raymond James Theater, 163 3rd Street North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, through November 24. For tickets, visit americanstage.org.
