Georgia Southern Theatre & Performance explores the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Mountaintop by Katori Hall

March 27, 2015

Statesboro, GA — The Theatre & Performance program at Georgia Southern University presents “The Mountaintop” by Katori Hall in the Center for Art & Theatre’s Black Box Theatre. The show will run from April 8 to April 15. Performances start at 7:30pm with Sunday matinees at 2:00pm.

Katori Hall, winner of the Blackburn prize for women, re-imagines the events of the night before the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and on the day he delivered a speech in which he foretold his own fate, “I may not get there with you, but I want you to know that tonight, we as a people will get to the Promised Land.” In this play she asks “What did Martin Luther King do the night before his death? Who did he talk to and what did he say?”

Playwright Katori Hall takes this historic date with destiny and weaves a powerful surrealistic fantasy about a conversation between King and a mysterious hotel maid who brings him a cup of coffee and prompts him to confront his life, his past, his legacy and the plight and future of African-Americans. Hall’s insight, light touch and lively mood depicts King as a real man with very human foibles who was nonetheless capable of inspiring millions to hope and move toward a momentous societal shift for equality and justice.

“Wondrous, hilarious, and heartbreaking”  – The Independent

“Crackles with theatricality and a humanity more moving than sainthood” – New York Newsday

“A beautiful and startling piece, beginning naturalistically before shifting gear into something magical spiritual and touching.” -Telegraph

“As Audacious as it is inventive. . . a thrilling, wild, provocative flight of magical realism . . . The King that is left after Hall’s humanization project is somehow more real and urgent and whole.”  – Associated Press

Audience members will recognize actors Khadijah Carter (“Flyin’ West”) and Akil Jackson (“Race”) in the roles of Camae and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Student and youth tickets are $5; Faculty, staff and community tickets are $10. All seating is general admission. The house opens at 7 p.m., and we encourage audience members to arrive no later than 7:15 p.m. to ensure good seats. The balcony will serve as overflow seating. Call the Box Office at 912-478-5379 to make reservations. Reservation requests can be left on the box office voicemail 24-hours a day. The box office is open 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday for ticket purchase and reopens at 6 p.m. on performance days.