The past cannot be changed, but through our memories and retellings, it can accrue new layers of meaning. In Katori Hall’s acclaimed play “The Mountaintop,” the final hours in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are reimagined in a soul-stirring portrait of the civil rights leader, captured in a moment of intimate reflection.
A new production of “The Mountaintop” is on stage at the Alliance Theatre from Aug. 30 through Sept. 22, directed by Alliance Theatre artistic director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden.
“‘The Mountaintop’ reckons with legacy, with martyrdom, and how far we have come,” says Kajese-Bolden, placing the audience directly in the room with MLK Jr. in such a way that it “peels back the curtain to reveal that greatness can exist in just a man, in just a person. Someone like us who is flawed, who is imperfect, who is passionate, driven and who has accepted their purpose in life.”
This human portrayal of MLK Jr. has won critical acclaim across the globe since the play’s first premier in 2009.
Kajese-Bolden recently sat down with “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to explore the evergreen resonance of “The Mountaintop” in its latest staging.
