The last night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, spent in a rather ordinary-looking motel room in Memphis, is cleverly re-created in Katori Hall’s award-winning play “The Mountaintop.”
It gets a remarkably sound production at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View, where it’s now playing in repertory with Dominique Morisseau’s “Sunset Baby” through Feb. 20.
Performed without intermission, the 90-minute drama (with a generous sprinkling of humor) is directed by the Pear’s artistic director Sinjin Jones.
He and the two solid performers in the cast make a formidable team that does justice to Hall’s reimagined version of what the last night of MLK’s life was like.
Audiences will quickly get absorbed in the nonverbal, visceral interaction between the agitated, ever-vigilant MLK (a strong, vulnerable performance by Fred Pitts) and the flirty, sassy hotel maid Camae (scene-stealing Damaris Divito).
It’s to their credit that even when the wordy play starts to be fatiguing, they spark a fire between them that refocuses the audience’s attention.
As the play opens, King, looking exhausted and somewhat rumpled, goes to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis after delivering his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Realizing he still has another speech to write, King recognizes he’s going to need some coffee to help him stay awake. Divito’s Camae arrives with a carafe of coffee and a whole lot more.
Hall created this justifiably lauded play from just one little nugget of fact, weaving in bits of mysticism, spiritualism and make-believe. Although the audience is treated to a surprise ending of Hall’s making, it helps make sense of some things that actually make no sense during such a racially charged time.
And although King died more than 50 years ago, what happened then is still topical. It’s likely Pear audiences will recognize that the shooting of King is another example of a Black man being shot by a racist because of his skin color.
But “The Mountaintop” isn’t a heavy-handed drama. It’s the interaction between the roguish, appealing Pitts and the girlish, alluring DiVito that keeps the audience interested.
One of the best scenes is when Camae puts on King’s too-large suit jacket and smelly shoes, then climbs on one of the twin beds and gives a stirring impersonation of the Civil Rights leader speaking at a rally.
Jackson Kienitz’s set design of the somewhat-rundown motel room looks very authentic, down to the orange bedspreads and old-fashioned telephone. Brittany Mellerson’s lighting is sometimes all over the place: First it’s bright, then it’s dim with a pink hue, then it’s bluish. From the audience’s standpoint, it’s hard to understand why the color changes.
The video montage that appears near play’s end is well-conceived and presented. Scenes of race riots, new television shows, presidents, wars and more add a sobering, realistic touch.
The real star of Hall’s play is the rich dialogue, for which she won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for best new play.
It’s well worth a trip to Mountain View’s Pear Theatre to experience a show that’s filled with solid acting and is, by itself, a fascinating play.
Tickets are $35-$38 at 650-254-1148 or www.thepear.org. Capacity is capped at 60 people, and masks must be worn while in the theater.
Source: www.mercurynews.com