The Mountaintop
One of the West End’s most celebrated productions, The Mountaintop has been ushered to Broadway by Jean Doumanian Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions starring Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Academy Award-nominee & Golden Globe-winner Angela Bassett as a motel maid, with original music by Grammy Award-winner Branford Marsalis and directed by Tony Award-nominee Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun). Penned by American playwright Katori Hall, The Mountaintop is a gripping reimagining of events the night before the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., as he retires to Room 306 in the now famous Lorraine Motel in Memphis, after delivering his legendary ‘I've Been to the Mountaintop’ speech to a massive church congregation. When room-service is delivered by a young woman, whose identity we puzzle over, King is forced to confront his past, as well as his legacy to his people. This theatrical event opened on Thursday, October 13, 2011 and ended its highly successful limited engagement on January 22, 2012 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street.).
The Mountaintop received the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Play, marking the first time a female African-American playwright has received the award in its 34-year history.
