Playwright: Katori Hall. At: Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. Tickets: 773-753-4472 or www.courttheatre.org; $45-$65. Runs through: Oct. 13
In The Mountaintop, playwright Katori Hall insistently shows that civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a flesh-and-blood human being with many fears and faults. So it might be a bit of shock to hear King demanding cigarettes and urinating in a motel bathroom in the first few minutes of the play.
People who see King as an untouchable martyr on a pedestal might take offense, but Hall's The Mountaintop is truly a celebration of the momentous accomplishments of this 20th-century civil-rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Court Theatre's awe-inspiring Chicago premiere of The Mountaintop brings Hall's 2010 Olivier Award-winning play vividly to life, and emphasizes the inspirational impact of King's life for generations to come.
Hall's two-character play takes its name from King's last public speech, and is set in his Memphis motel room the rainy night before he was assassinated April 4, 1968. King (David Alan Anderson), is stressing about a composing a new speech, and is disappointed by the relatively dismal turnout for his appearance that night. In comes the young chamber maid Camae (Lisa Beasley) with coffee, clearly awed to be in King's company and both pleased and put off by his flirtatious compliments.
Yet Camae turns out to be more than she seems, and the course of The Mountaintop completely changes in tone and style to allow Hall's King to reflect on his mortality and legacy. While some may find this plot twist to be slightly hokey, it allows The Mountaintop to take on an extra gravitas in pointing out that everyday people can strive to achieve greatness.
Director Ron OJ Parson has cast The Mountaintop marvelously, since both Anderson as King and Beasley as Camae bring out both the seriousness and playfulness of Hall's text, and their rapport with each other (and the audience) is wonderful.
Anderson gets across King's world-weariness and paranoia, along with a playfulness that's very endearing. Beasley also shows a great emotional range as she both encourages and stands up to King, especially when her purpose for this visit is revealed.
Parson and his cast do have some struggles navigating one or two abrupt emotional shifts, but that's also a scripting issue on Hall's part.
The Mountaintop at Court Theatre is also a wonder, production-wise. Set designer Scott Davis, lighting designer Sarah Hughey and sound designer Victoria Delorio all have a field day in their design work, constantly finding surprising ways to wow the audience as the play progresses to its epic ending.
In light of the recent 50th-anniversary celebrations of the 1963 March on Washington when King delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, the Court Theatre's production of The Mountaintop couldn't be more timely or significant. But more importantly, The Mountaintop stresses how flesh and blood human beings can work to make an impact on society, no matter how limited the time that they're allotted. It's an important message to share, and The Mountaintop trumpets it with plenty of theatricality and emotion to spare.