Round House Theatre continues its 2023-2024 Season with Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning The Mountaintop. Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, this production is an intimate reimagining that weaves historical fact with surrealist fantasy to show us Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis’s Lorraine Motel. Press Night is Monday, October 16, 2023. Please see below for complete program details and ticket information.

The night before his untimely death, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis after delivering a speech to local sanitation workers. While waiting for room service, he is visited by a mysterious and beautiful maid, Camae, with whom he begins a humorous and flirtatious conversation that progresses into a soul-searching discussion about their mutual hopes and fears. When Camae reveals her true identity, Dr. King must reflect on his legacy and the challenges facing the civil rights movement. “Audacious [and] inventive” (Associated Press), the Olivier Award-winning play offers an intimate and empathetic portrait of one of history’s most consequential figures.

“We’re thrilled to bring this timeless play, written by the groundbreaking playwright Katori Hall, to the Round House stage,” says Artistic Director Ryan Rilette. “We hope audiences will enjoy the eclectic mix of Martin Luther King’s historical legacy and the magical execution from a stellar cast and creative team.”

Director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is delighted to magnify the insightful and humorous moments throughout The Mountaintop. “I am looking forward to directing Katori Hall’s magical imagining of Dr. King’s last night on earth. With humor, insight, and flair, the play gives us a look at Dr. King wrestling with his mortality and the work he urgently wants to be continue,” says Turner Sonnenberg. “It invites us to examine his legacy and our own willingness to continue his work of moving our country forward.”

The brilliant cast includes Ro Boddie (August Wilson’s Radio Golf at Round House Theatre and Socrates at Public Theater) and Renea Brown (Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Folger Shakespeare Theatre).

The cast is joined by an exceptional creative team that includes Scenic Designer Paige Hathaway, Costume Designer Brandee Mathies, Lighting Designer Sherrice Mojgani, Sound Designer Nick Hernandez, Projections Designer Zavier Taylor, Dialect Coaches Nathan Crocker and Dawn-Elin Fraser, Magic Coordinator Ryan Phillips, Properties Coordinator Luke Hartwood, Casting Director Sarah Cooney, Dramaturg Naysan Mojgani, Intimacy Consultant Megan Behm, and Production Stage Manager Dante Fields.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 240.644.1100 or ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org. Round House Theatre is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from Wisconsin Avenue and the Bethesda station on Metro’s Red Line.