Photo: Milwaukee Chamber Theater
Milwaukee Chamber Theater ‘The Mountaintop’
Milwaukee Chamber Theater's ‘The Mountaintop’
Play characters, by their natures, become larger than life when they take the stage, often raising the mere ordinary to extraordinary levels in pursuit of the narrative’s goals and objectives. But what if that character had actually lived, and what if he was already larger than life himself? The goal then becomes to know the person at more intimate and ordinary levels to better understand his life and his ideals.
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall faced that challenge in writing The Mountaintop, an imagined final night of life for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just prior to his 1968 assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. Most recently, it has fallen to Milwaukee theater artist Dimonte Henning, who is directing the upcoming Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of Hall’s play, to take the narrative and show King as the man he was inside the legend the rest of the world had come to know.
“I was very attracted to Dr. King,” says Henning. “I am a believer in his principals and methods of nonviolence. As a country we know just the surface of King and not what goes on behind closed doors. This play helps us see that he was a human being.”
Room 306
Hall’s fictional narrative picks up after King (Bryant Bentley) has given his famous speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”, and has returned to motel room 306. Tired and nursing a cold, the great man reveals that he is, first and foremost a man, with uncertainties, fear, and concerns. He understands the challenges he and his followers face better than anyone and is weary under the weight of them as a storm rages outside.
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Enter Camae (N’Jameh Russell-Camara), a hotel maid who brings him room service. There is something unusual about her and she brings out the man in king, who becomes playful, even flirtatious. Conversations ensue and eventually take on much deeper meanings. Clearly, there is more to Camae than first appears.
“I refer to this play as ‘magic realism,’” Henning says. “It’s very authentic, until it’s not.”
Camae’s character, which has been criticized as sounding illiterate and “dumb”, brings a complexity to the narrative that gives it greater depth and meaning, Henning says. She also reinforces the tremendous role Black women have had in supporting the civil rights movement as pillars of the Black community.
“Camae isn’t dumb, she’s real, and that’s what Dr. King needs at that moment,” the director adds. But there is more to it than that, as the narrative eventually reveals.
Community Element
There also is more to this production of “The Mountaintop,” with an added community element. Before each of 17 performances, one of Milwaukee’s Black leaders and “changemakers’ will be recognized and honored with a Mountaintop Legacy Award for his or her role is using King’s principles to support and advance the city’s Black community. In addition to Chamber Theatre, the award series is cosponsored by America’s Black Holocaust Museum, CopyWrite Magazine, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and Zao MKE Church.
“We all have the potential to be the change we hope to see in the world, and we are honoring Milwaukee changemakers who have kept Dr. King’s legacy alive,” Henning says. “Parts of his dream are still true, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“You can’t silence the truth,” Henning adds.
The Mountaintop runs March 8-24 at the Studio Theatre inside the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. On Legacy Night—Friday, March 22 and hosted by CopyWrite Magazine—tickets are reserved for Black-identifying community members. For more information, visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.
