DTC Announces Complete Details for THE MOUNTAINTOP
By: Sally Henry Fuller Aug. 29, 2015
"Martin Luther King, Jr. is this extraordinary individual placed in a very ordinary situation with real human concerns that we all deal with" said Akin Babatunde, director of The Mountaintop. "The performance allows us to look at the extraordinary aspect of ourselves, in our ordinary world, through this one man who faced very similar issues."
The Mountaintop gives audiences a unique perspective on Martin Luther King, Jr. as thoughts and emotions pulse through his mind during his last night on earth. Not just for history enthusiasts, The Mountaintop will surprise audiences with a theatrically spell-binding twist. Set in Memphis' Lorraine motel just hours before the civil-rights leader was assassinated, audiences will view King as a man stripped of the mountain of mythology now woven into his remembrance. Crackling with metaphysical magical realism, The Mountaintop will throw lightning bolts of insight upon societal strengths in the intimate environment of the Studio Theater.
"The Mountaintop is an evening of breathtaking theater," said Dallas Theater Center Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty. "Katori Hall accomplishes something unique in her thrilling play that explores history, justice and legacy. It's filled with surprising plot twists and turns and deep moral insights. Packed into a taught ninety minutes and produced in the intimate Studio Theatre with the audience only feet away from the actors, The Mountaintop will inspire audiences to engage in deep conversations for weeks to come."
DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member Hassan El-Amin (Colossal, Stagger Lee, Driving Miss Daisy, LES MISERABLES) will play Martin Luther King, Jr. opposite Southern Methodist University graduate student Tiana Johnson (The Book Club Play) as Camae.
For this production, the Studio Theatre will be transformed into Memphis' Lorraine motel by set designer Bob Lavallee, lighting designer Alan Edwards, sound designer David Lanza and costume designer Claudia Stephens. Projection designer Chase York's vivid projections will transport audiences to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last night. Seating will be General Admission.
Tickets for The Mountaintop are on sale now. Ticket prices start at $18 and are available online atwww.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202. All performances of The Mountaintop will take place at the Wyly Theatre (Studio Theatre), located at 2400 Flora St. in the AT&T Performing Arts Center, where it runs Sept.16 - Nov 15, 2015.
DTC's Come Early sponsored by Wells Fargo will take place one hour before every performance and will be led by Tiana Johnson. DTC's Stay Late presented by Dr Pepper Snapple will take place after each performance and will be led by Hassan El-Amin. Patrons will have the opportunity to engage with artists, learn about the production and share insights about the play in a lively discussion. Details for Come Early and Stay Late are available online.
ABOUT DALLAS THEATER CENTER:
One of the leading regional theaters in the country, Dallas Theater Center (DTC) performs to an audience of more than 120,000 North Texas residents annually. Founded in 1959, DTC is now a resident company of the AT&T Performing Arts Center and presents its Mainstage season at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus and Rem Koolhaas and at its original home, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, the only freestanding theater designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty and Managing Director Jeffrey Woodward, DTC produces a seven-play subscription series of classics, musicals and new plays and an annual production of A Christmas Carol; extensive education programs, including the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award-winning Project Discovery, SummerStage and partnerships with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts; and community outreach efforts including leading the DFW Foote Festival and recent collaborations with the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Public Library, Dallas Holocaust Museum, North Texas Food Bank, Dallas Opera, and Dallas Black Dance Theater. Throughout its history, DTC has produced many new works, including The Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones in 1978, Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, adapted by Adrian Hall, in 1986, and recent premieres of FLY by Rajiv Joseph, Bill Sherman and Kirstin Childs; Fly by Night by Kim Rosenstock, Michael Mitnick and Will Connolly; Giant by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson; The Trinity River Plays by Regina Taylor; the revised It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Charles Strouse and Lee Adams; Give It Up! (now titled Lysistrata Jones and recently on Broadway) by Douglas Carter Beane and Lewis Flinn; Sarah, Plain and Tall by Julia Jordan, Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin; and The Good Negroby Tracey Scott Wilson.
Dallas Theater Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our season sponsors: Texas Instruments; American Airlines; HP; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs; Lexus; and Time Warner Cable.
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