Curtain Calls: ‘The Mountaintop’ brings Dr. King’s humanity to the stage
Oakland Theater Project, however, brings King’s humanity with all its foibles back in Katori Hall’s powerful two-person play “The Mountaintop.” The playwright reimagines the night before King’s death as she reveals the often-fragile man beneath the icon.
King has just delivered one of his famous sermons and has retired to his motel room in Memphis. When the appealing maid brings his coffee order to his room, he asks her to stay for a while, and so begins Hall’s electrifying version of King’s final night.
Co-directors James Mercer II and Michael Socrates Moran create a physical environment that engages audience members from the moment they enter the theater. With music of the period softly filling the intimate space and projections of King as well as newsreels from the ’60s enveloping the back wall, the audience finds itself transported back to that turbulent time. A time that, unfortunately, has much in common with today’s headlines.
Sam Fehr’s provocative set features a motel room surrounding a sunken feather bed with an oversized grave marker stating birth and death dates for King at the top. At the bottom of the bed are King’s shoes and briefcase.
Mercer and Moran choose two consummate actors in William Thomas Hodgson (King) and Sam Jackson (the maid Camae).
Hodgson begins the action by walking on the stage with only socks on his feet and, literally, steps into King’s shoes. When Jackson enters, the two charismatic performers begin an intimate dance that lasts late into the night.
Hodgson and Jackson make their characters so real and easy to relate to that Hall’s transition into a more surreal atmosphere at the end feels jarring. But maybe that’s what the playwright wants. After all, King’s death and the many heartbreaks of the civil rights movement were jarring to say the least.
“The Mountaintop” runs 90 minutes with no intermission through Sunday at FLAX art & design on 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland. For tickets, call 510-646-1126 or go to oaklandtheaterproject.org.
Pt. Richmond: Here’s a clever angle for a story for you. A group of scribes with writer’s block meet regularly to support each other and, surprise, the stories they’ve been working on – a 1930s detective thriller, a Victorian romance, a sci-fi story – come to life in the second half of the show.
If this sounds familiar, you’ve probably already seen Alan Ayckbourn’s “Improbable Fiction.” If you haven’t, now’s your chance as Masquers Playhouse produces the crazy comedy through March 1.
Ayckbourn got his inspiration from a talk he gave to a writing group that seemed more interested in socializing than writing. Although written in 2005, the themes of exploring creativity and the gap between aspiration and reality hold true to this day.
Angela Mason directs the fun with C. Conrad Cady, Anna Kosiarek, Lori Mrochinski, Tyler Null, Simon Patton and Alicia von Kugelgen playing the fledgling writers.
According to von Kugelgen, the play is “a bit of the reality of being a writer, a bit absurdist and very British.”
The delightful Hotel Mac, located across the street from the theater, offers specially prepared dinners at a discount following Sunday matinees. Reservations are required (510-374-6511), and you must show your show program when you arrive at Hotel Mac on 10 Cottage Ave. in Pt. Richmond.
For tickets to “Improbable Fiction” at Masquers Playhouse is located on 105 Park Place in Pt. Richmond, call 510-232-3888 or go to masquers.org.
Castro Valley: If you prefer a heartwarming comedy that illustrates the power of community when one of life’s unexpected challenges arises, try Chanticleers’ “The Savannah Sipping Society.”
The very funny, yet poignant story follows four Southern women as they navigate mid-life crises and find strength in their newfound bond – not to mention, their weekly cocktail hours.
The show runs Feb. 20 through March 8 at 3683 Quail Ave. in Castro Valley. For tickets, call 510-733-5483 or go to https://onthestage.tickets/.
S.F.: The renowned American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) presents “Paranormal Activity,” an original story based on Paramount Pictures’ terrifying film franchise, Feb. 19 thorugh March 15 at its Toni Rembe Theater on 415 Geary St. in San Francisco.
Written by Levi Holloway and Felix Barrett, the story follows James and Lou, who move from Chicago to London to escape their past. They soon learn, however, that places aren’t haunted, people are.
The show features Cher Álvarez (Lou), Travis A. Knight (James), Shannon Cochran (James’ mother) and Katy Fry (Etheline Cotgrave, a medium). Felix Barrett directs.
For tickets, call 415-749-2228 or go to act-sf.org.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.