The large neon sign emblazoned with “The Lorraine Motel” hangs under the dim lighting of the theatre. Its bright light cuts through the darkness, blanketing the stage below in a pale glow. Two beds, in muted shades of yellow and orange, sit to the right of the stage, adjacent to a small bathroom. The other half of the room is taken up by a dainty coffee table and waste basket. Windows, framed in heavy orange curtains, allow light to pass through their translucent panes casting a spotlight on the carpeted floor. The rumpled bed and clothing strewn about the room suggest that the space is occupied. The motel setting illustrated on stage is so mundane that one would never guess it was the room where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last night on earth.
Theatrical activism is not a new concept. The stage has long been a place for controversy and conversation and today tensions are high and patience is low for conversations about social equality in America. These conversations must be handled with care, compassion and grace. The Aurora Theatre’s production of The Mountaintop does exactly this.
The Mountaintop by Katori Hall tells the story of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final night before his assassination at the Lorraine Hotel. Through this play, the Aurora Theatre tackles the issue of civil rights in the 1960’s while drawing a parallel to today’s racial injustices. The performance, while including a history very familiar to most, adds an element of novelty when it explores the conflicting emotions Rev. Martin Luther King faced when leading the civil rights movement. Philip Brandes writes in the Los Angeles times that “this isn’t the play for new discoveries or revelations about King the man, but it’s a powerful, poetic take on his legacy — its triumphs and still-unfulfilled promises — from the perspective of a generation that followed him.”
The weary Martin Luther King Jr., who juggles the pressures of being a civil rights leader and the infectious hope for social justice, is played by Neal Ghant. King’s frenzied passion for justice, is met with the lively personality of the motel housekeeper, Camae, played by Cynthia D. Barker. The chemistry between the two characters on stage is electric. Loud, rambunctious and unafraid to question King’s actions, Camae becomes the perfect smoking partner to keep King occupied on a stormy night. Camae is very much the audience’s glimpse into this world and the key mouth piece in the conversation of social justice.
This play touches on some of the more sensitive aspects of racial inequality. One of these aspects being the hatred some African-Americans garnered towards white Americans in response to unfair treatment. In the early moments of the play King paces across the dingy carpet of the motel room, a tight grip on a wad of papers. The audience recognizes the set of papers as a rough draft of Dr. Kings next speech, a speech they know will never be spoken. The message contains vulgar and obscene language disparaging whites. Camae later mimics this speech with her own slew of colorful language. She reflects on her own unpleasant experiences with whites as a black woman in Mobile, Alabama. In a way, the approach is unapologetic and grounds us in sense of reality.
The Mountaintop, loses its grip on reality when it introduces a supernatural element. Camae, the motel housekeeper is actually an angel in disguise, tasked with the job of helping Rev. King pass on to heaven. The plot twist is unique, intriguing, and little unsettling. Very real messages and problems about social equality are being addressed in the show and the added layer of fantasy releases some of the gravity of the situation. Fortunately, the plot devise serves as a reminder that the play itself is fictional, since no one knows what happened that night before Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Despite the disquieting plot twist, The Mountaintop continues to provoke questions about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with its witty banter and unabashed monologues. The play humanizes Rev. King, giving him flaws and unattractive features like being a chain smoker and having smelly feet. This break from the textbook image of King is refreshing.
The impact of a show like The Mountaintop is not subtle or mysterious. The message is as palpable as the tears that slid down my face at the end of play. Pass the baton. Honor and keep the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King had. It is a reminder that even though de jure segregation among whites and blacks no longer exists in America, there are still issues, such as police brutality and immigration laws, to be discussed and fixed.