Review: THE MOUNTAINTOP Resonates

Katori Hall's, The Mountaintop, opened this past weekend at the South Bend Civic Theatre and was simply powerful, moving, and unforgettable.

The play is a fictional reimagination of Martin Luther King's last night alive before he is assassinated. The story takes place entirely in the Lorraine Motel and has only two characters; DR. Martin Luther King, Jr., played by Ben Little, and Camae, played by Kelly Morgan.

It all starts with the set; an astoundingly accurate portrayal of a motel that is just on the boarder of sleazy and "nice." Set mostly in tones of yellows, dirty whites, and dark browns, the motel has all the essentials; beds, a bathroom, some furnishings such as a desk and coffee table, and just a few photos thrown up on the wall in an attempt to push the feel of the room more towards "nice." The motel had all the right feelings of unsettled nerves; "Something is going to happen here, and it won't be good." To top it off, there is a large projected sign reading, "Lorraine Motel," that brings the whole stage together to prepare for Martin Luther King's final hours.

Under the direction of Shirley Gordon, what really brings this story to life is the relationship between Dr. King and Camae. Their chemistry is unbelievable, and it is their synergetic companionship that does this profound story justice. It is also through each individual actor's immense talent that this play flourishes.

Kelly Morgan's interpretation of Camae is both physically and emotionally enthralling. Morgan perfectly depicts a woman who is all things nervous, friendly, jittery, desperate, eager, delightful, endearing, spastic, and full of sweetness and compassion in an extraordinary situation. While all those things seem all over the place, Morgan is able to bring all those qualities into a cohesive character.

Ben Little also has the extraordinary task of playing the reverEd Martin Luther King, Jr. and does an astounding job. Like Morgan, there is no aspect of Little's person that is not completely dedicated to bringing Martin Luther King to life. Little makes Dr. King personable, charming, and most importantly, human. Little's performance has such layers of complexity to the character that the Dr. King portrayed on stage feels familiar, real, like a friend, and not someone that nowadays people can only learn about or hear about in a classroom or through talking about the past. That is an extraordinary feat for an actor to accomplish in playing a character that only exists for a few hours. One thing that is also extremely impressive about Little's performance is that he never has Dr. King stop performing; even in the intimate environment of his own hotel room, Little never stops gesticulating and orating, as if every moment in King's life was an opportunity to speak truth and make change, something that would most likely be true for someone who spent a better part of their life doing just that.

Another noteworthy aspect of this show is its ability to casually embrace the fantastical. There are some other-worldly facets to this story, and while a lot of this can be chocked up to the writing, the way the production approaches the magic of the show is well-played off. There is nothing corny or kitsch about it; they are just normal things, happening in the reality of this world. It is extremely tasteful.

The critiques I give this show are few. Little's accent for Dr. King was a little difficult to understand the louder and more passionate he got in his speech. Morgan's voice, while perfectly sweet, was sporadically low-volume and hard to hear. Lastly, but what I feel is the most important, is that there should be a longer moment between the end of the play and the bows. The production is so influential, so there needs to be some time to allow the depth of the show to sit with the audience before we are all thrown into continuous clapping. All that being said, the production was phenomenal and by far one of the best acted shows that I have seen at SBCT.

There are both poignant moments, and humorous ones. It is a provocative piece that will leave thinking about the story long after you leave the theater. It is playing throughout the rest of the week and you don't want to miss this one.

Photo Credit: Jon Gilchrist

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