Why SCT chose “The Mountaintop” as next performance
by Rob Howard
Associate Editor
Springfield Contemporary Theatre (SCT) artistic director Richard Dines had known about Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop for a few years, and wanted bring it to the stage. But it wasn’t until he heard a gripping story told by actor Tony Wheeler that he knew this was the time.
Dines had worked with Wheeler before, but during a concert series, Wheeler told his story of being a kid from Jamaica growing up in Kansas City. Schoolmates made fun of his accent; his mother had a collection of Martin Luther King speeches. “He’d listen to them for hours, and that helped him get rid of his accent.”
At an SCT Concert Series, Dines says, “Without hesitating, he [Wheeler] launched into one of these MLK speeches. I’d never heard his story, and to see the shift within him and embody the speeches - the minute I saw him do it, I thought ‘okay, next season we are doing this show.’”
The Mountaintop is a gripping fictional re-imagination of events the night before the assassination of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 3, 1968, after delivering his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech in support of the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, an exhausted Dr. King retires to Room 306 at the Memphis’ Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside.
“He calls down for coffee, and this girl seemingly working for the hotel, brings him coffee,” says Dines. “Over the course [of the evening], conversations begin to come up between the two of them; she admires him for the work he’s been doing. They talk about activism; she thinks it should be more aggressive. A lot of things evolve over time between them. You wonder if he is trying to seduce her.
“The play takes a major turn, about half-way through, and there is a surprising revelation. It takes on a magical realism direction as it proceeds. As the play evolves, it becomes apparent that she is not all she said she is. It becomes a discussion about legacy, but there is some ambiguity to it that pulls the audience along,” he says.
In addition to his “eureka” moment with Tony Wheeler, Dines says of the play, “It’s very timely, the issues it discusses are very pertinent. I find it fascinating that it grapples with the concept that yes, she has a lot of respect for this man who is a leader. But we don’t see him in the legendary setting we usually see him in. He’s just a man in his hotel room.”
The girl is played by Amber Renae. All the cast of most of SCT’s productions are local. “We’re very blessed that there is a good amount of theatre talent in Springfield for the size city it is,” Dines commented.
The Mountaintop plays October 14-16, 21-23, 28-30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Reserved seat tickets are priced $25 for adults, $22 for seniors (55+) and students, with all tickets opening weekend priced at $20. Student Rush Tickets (if seats are available) are sold 30 minutes before each performance for $10. For tickets call the box office at (417) 831-8001 or visit www.SpringfieldContemporaryTheatre.org.
Springfield Contemporary Theatreis in its 22nd season of productions. SCT presents a wide variety of productions year-round and is dedicated to the production of works that can be re-energized through a contemporary view.
Copyright 2016 The Gayly – September 30, 2016 @ 1:15 p.m.