Theater review: ‘The Mountaintop’

— Playwright Katori Hall isn’t always interested in dramatic narratives that stay earthbound in the realm of realistic human understanding, as in her fascinating 2014 play Our Lady of Kibeho, based on a story about three Rwandan girls who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in the 1980s.

Her earlier play The Mountaintop, which won the Best Play Olivier Award in London in 2010 and opened on Broadway in 2011, also has a supernatural turn, but in a story and with a central character that American audiences know and revere: Martin Luther King, Jr. It gets an exceptional production at the Dallas Theater Center, directed by Akin Babatunde.

Set on the eve of MLK’s assassination in a Memphis hotel in April 1968, The Mountaintop imagines King’s last night on earth as he prepares for his next speech. In his hotel room, King (played by Hassan El-Amin) gets a room service visit from maid Camae (Tiana Kaye Johnson), who’s on her first day of the job.

The ensuing is filled with texture and intrigue. Camae seems to know more about the Reverend than she at first lets on, and Hall gives us a very human King who reminds of the flaws that we knew about him, such as that he had extramarital affairs. Then it takes a turn most audiences won’t expect, and it’s difficult not to give it away. Let’s just say that MLK’s destiny is bigger than his fate; it’s downright cosmic. As important as he was to America and the Civil Rights Movement, his legacy of inspiring events and people, famous or not, cannot be underestimated.

In the Sixth Floor Studio Space, scenic designer Bob Lavallee gives us a simple, nice-but-not-too-nice hotel room, where the action takes place. There’s an occasional look at the front door, but we’re focused on that one room. Other design elements are spot-on: Claudia Stephens’ costumes, Alan C. Edwards’ lighting, David Bova’s hair and makeup and, crucially, David Lanza’s sound and Chase York’s projection designs.

El-Amin doesn’t do an MLK impersonation, and although some that giant’s vocal mannerisms are missed, he gives us a nuanced character that, despite his flaws, we believe and love on a level that goes beyond the mere relatable. The big find here is Southern Methodist University student Johnson, a smart, fun Southern gal who’s flirty and intellectually stimulating. She never gives away that there’s something bigger at play until the script designates that it’s time for that reveal.

By that point we were already hooked; but the ending is even more thrilling that you would have imagined, knowing that King’s life tragically ended the next day. Of course, his story, his influence and legacy didn’t die. Hall reminds us that it’s OK to appreciate the fact that there are some things we’re not meant to fully understand.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Theater review: ‘The Mountaintop’."