Fever Dream: The Mountaintop Review
Jasmine Shanise and Torrey Linder in The Mountaintop at Playhouse on Park. Photo by Meredith Longo.
Playhouse on Park brings Katori Hall’s fictionalized account of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night earth in The Mountaintop. Set on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, the play, a sequence of events, dances the line between sins and forgiveness, painting a picture of the late Reverend using the colors of his life that aren’t usually highlighted on his annual day of celebration.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Torrey Linder) awaits the return of his friend in a two-bedroom suite at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis beyond the midnight hour. In an attempt to pen what would have become his final speech, a service worker, Camae (Jasmine Shanise), knocks, bringing Dr. King the coffee he ordered before getting swept up in a much-too-long flirtatious conversation. The dance between Dr. King and Camae overemphasizes the allegations of his real-life infidelity in what seems to be a proverbial flirt with death. Amid the noticing of his attempt at philandering, Dr. King’s righteous indignation rears its head as he defends his plans for his people, the stand he takes, and laments the burdens of the job to Camae. The plot points pivot between realism and fantasy in a pseudo-spiritual August Wilson-like turn of events that heighten emotions and wipe away the premeditation of his earlier sins. This production, in what dances the line between an ode to the man, the imperfect man, and a criticism of his frailties, emphasizes the call that was Dr. King’s life. The understanding of a man turned martyr—the life spent in service without the catharsis of arrival, a tale as old as time, as seen in stories like that of Moses, who also led the people without making it into the promised land— we see the imagining of the last moments of one who would have chosen a different life if given the chance.
Linder’s ever-so-slight resemblance to Dr. King contributes the most surreal element to this production, though not the sole benefit of the casting. Linder’s range of emotion, from indignant preacher-man to fear-gripped remnants of a child, is a force to be reckoned with. Shanise, deep fried in southern charm and comedic brilliance, offsets the somberness of the night. The weight of the production’s success is distributed evenly between the two.
Patti Panyakaew’s scenic design, coupled with Vilinda McGregor’s costume design, achieves a high degree of period authenticity. Camae’s mint, short-sleeved dress, white apron, black flats, and headband reflect the standard uniform for domestic and hospitality workers at the time. The color palette—salmon curtains, powder-blue door, and mustard carpet —creates a period-accurate tone and nostalgic warmth against the backdrop of the production, weaving through historical accuracy and the playwright's liberties. The collaboration of lighting, projection, and sound (Matthew Weisgable, Christian Killada, and Carter Mangan Jr., respectively) heightens the play's somber, pensive mood.
The Mountaintop breeches the resounding reverence for the reverend as it has recycled quotes of peace and love every third Monday of January—this critical look into his faults, on this, the last day of his life, can arguably be noted as either an emblem of respect for a man in full, or black light scrutiny. Either way, this production delivers an edge that provokes thought—and is that not what art is meant to do?
For tickets, visit https://playhouseonpark.org/. The Mountaintop runs through March 22nd.
