Confirmed! Angela Bassett to Star with Samuel L. Jackson in THE MOUNTAINTOP

Producers Jean Doumanian and Sonia Friedman announced today that Academy Award-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Angela Bassett will return to the Broadway stage in the role of Camae starring opposite Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson as DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Broadway production of the new play, The Mountaintop, by Katori Hall directed by Tony Award-nominee Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun). The Mountaintop will begin performances on September 22, 2011, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street), with an official opening on Thursday, October 13, 2011.

Tickets for the Broadway premiere of the 2010 Olivier Award® winning Best Play are now available at Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200, and beginning August 11th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street).

Taking place on April 3, 1968, The Mountaintop is a gripping reimagining of events the night before the assassination of civil rights leader DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. After delivering his legendary ‘I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech, an exhausted Dr. King retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious young woman delivers room service, King is forced to confront his past, as well as his legacy to his people.

The Mountaintop is produced by Jean Doumanian, Sonia Friedman Productions, and Ambassador Theatre Group.

In a joint statement, Ms. Doumanian and Ms. Friedman said, "We are thrilled that casting for The Mountaintop is complete and that we will be presenting Angela Bassett on Broadway with Samuel L. Jackson. These two remarkable actors have excited audiences around the world for many years, and bringing them together in this extraordinary new play on Broadway promises to be a major highlight of the season. The Mountaintop is an ambitious work of fiction that is powerful, heartbreaking, humorous and exhilarating. We are ecstatic to be bringing Katori Hall's remarkable, Olivier Award-winning work to New York, and to present a singular new American voice to Broadway audiences."

The Mountaintop will play the following performance schedule: Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday - Saturday at 8:00 p.m., with matinees on Wednesday & Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Tickets ($75 - $130) are available at Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200, and beginning August 11th at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street).

The Mountaintop received its world premiere to critical acclaim in a three-week run at Theatre 503 in June 2009, and subsequently transferred to the West End's Trafalgar Studio 1. The production featured powerful performances by David Harewood as DR. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Lorraine Burroughs as the mysterious Camae, under the direction of James Dacre. The Mountaintop also received two Evening Standard Awards Nominations, including Most Promising Playwright, and was awarded the coveted 2010 Olivier Award for Best Play. This year, Ms. Hall also received the Susan Smith Blackburn prize.