Theatre Review: ‘The Mountaintop’ at Arena Stage

Provocative and moving, ‘The Mountaintop’ imagines what the last night of Martin Luther King’s life might have been like. That iconic photo of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis is eerily re-created on a revolving stage that has the familiar exterior and balcony on one side, and the unmistakable 60’s look of wood paneling and twin beds with pink coverlets on the inside.

The play wastes no time in knocking down the unrealistic Saintly qualities that have been attributed to him in order to show that MLK was, as he says himself, “Just a man.” Yes, he takes a leak in the bathroom(and you can hear) and, yes, he has stinky feet and he smokes cigarettes and he flirts with girls—perhaps, he’s done more than flirt? He’s a very scared, troubled, but sincere man with great intentions. He doesn’t, however, walk on water.

On this rainy night in Memphis, all he wants is a cup of coffee to drink, while he works on his speech for the next day. That cup arrives with the infectious smile of motel maid, Camae (Joaquina Kalukango). MLK bums a cigarette from her and invites her to sit, beginning a first act of flirtations and teases, occasionally interspersed with meaningful discussion of the country’s state of affairs.

There is much that must not be revealed about a shift in tone and plot about two-thirds of the way through the play. It is a jarring, but artistic turn that I, for one, totally dug. The word “Unexpected” came to mind several times throughout the one act story. For instance, one probably expects an historical, step-by-step story that is told with white gloves, so as not to disturb the image most of us have of the hero in scratchy black and white newsreels, speaking of his dream. Did you think you’d see a sock-footed, chain smoking flirt? Nope, it was unexpected.

And what takes up the final third of the play is one unexpected turn after another, as it goes from almost whimsical to certainly fantastical. Bowman Wright plays MLK with a casual air, he is fully aware of both his celebrity and the target on his back. As the action moves toward an uncertain climax, Wright and playwright Katori Hall elicit a feeling that one has been dropped into a kind of Garden of Gethsemane—a heart pounding, anxious moment where one realizes the end is near, but doesn’t want to go.

Kalukango is asked to maneuver along a fine line, realistic, comedic, playful and…well, that other part that we can’t talk about it.

The last few minutes of the play put the audience in a time warp—speeding images blow past us and it feels like we’re heading for a brick wall or a pane of glass. There’s that feeling in the stomach one has on a roller coaster in the dark. We’re heading for something, and just when we get there—lights out. End of play. Now—breathe…breathe…breathe…

‘The Mountaintop Continues at Arena Stage through May 12th. For tickets and more information, please visit: http://www.arenastage.org

Here is one of a few photos from that day in 1968-Jessie Jackson is pictured here, too: