The Adobe Theater to Present THE MOUNTAINTOP in January

The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, is a fictional, edgy, controversial, thought-provoking play which takes place in the motel room of Martin Luther King Jr. on the night before his assassination. Dr. King is played by Marcus Ivey (you may have seen his sterling performance in Blood Knot) and the maid is played by Nicee Wagner (recently seen in The Hollow, discuss the issues facing Dr. King and the conversation reveals a surprising twist.   Katori Hall is an award-winning playwright and television creator/producer hailing from Memphis, Tennessee. She won the prestigious Olivier Award in London, England, for The Mountaintop in 2010. Not only is she a two-time Tony Award nominee, she won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, The Hot Wing King.

Jenelle Baptiste, who was recently on stage at The Vortex Theatre, takes up the directorial reins. A director friend handed her a copy of The Mountaintop back in 2016 and she couldn't put it down. She chuckled at the thought of Dr. King having stinky feet as she read. Since then, she has been drawn many times to Katori Hall's stories because of her love and articulation of black life--particularly in the south. Her works are an ode to black people everywhere; an acknowledgment of ALL their experiences not just racism and trauma. 

Ms Baptiste says “in The Mountaintop, we go on a journey of seeing Dr. King through a different lens---we see him laugh, cry, curse, flirt and have a smoke with a beautiful black woman. We get to see the man---the human being behind his iconic status. And lastly, we are asked to think about how racism and hatred can take a toll on a person's humanity and their psyche. If Dr. King were alive today, what would he think? Did his dream come true? What can we all do as a society to stand up against hatred and injustice? Afterall, the baton passes on.” 

For more information and tickets, go to www.adobetheater.org or call 505-898-9222.

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