Arden Theatre Company To Present Katori Hall's THE MOUNTAINTOP Beginning October 30

Arden Theatre Company will continue its 2025/26 season with The Mountaintop, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by Barrymore Award winner Brett Ashley Robinson. The play begins previews on October 30, opens November 5, and runs through December 14 on the Arcadia Stage.

Set at Memphis’s Lorraine Motel on April 3, 1968, the evening before his assassination, The Mountaintop imagines an intimate encounter between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Camae, a hotel maid whose arrival transforms his quiet night into a deeply personal reckoning. Over the course of 90 minutes, the play reveals the humor, doubts, and humanity of a leader confronting his own mortality and legacy.

“The Mountaintop blends history and magical realism to imagine the last night of Dr. King’s life,” said director Robinson. “It is deeply funny, moving, and inspiring, and encourages audiences to dream of how to carry King’s legacy forward.”

The two-person cast features Akeem Davis (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and Kishia Nixon (Camae). Davis is a Barrymore Award winner and familiar face to Arden audiences from King Hedley II, Intimate Apparel, and The Lehman Trilogy. Nixon’s Arden credits include Holy Grail of Memphis, The BFG, and Clyde’s, alongside regional appearances at Theatre Exile, Delaware Theatre Company, and Lantern Theatre Company.

The creative team includes Robinson (Director), Gabe Moses (Assistant Director), Reiko Huffman (Scenic Design), J. Dominic Chacon (Lighting Design), Asaki Kuruma (Costume Design), Elizabeth Atkinson (Sound Design), Jorge Cousineau (Projection Design), and Matthew Ryan Melchior (Stage Manager).

Tickets & Information

The Mountaintop runs October 30 – December 14, 2025 on the Arcadia Stage at Arden Theatre Company (40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA). Single ticket prices start at $37. Tickets are available at ardentheatre.org, by phone at 215.922.1122, or at the Arden box office.

Special Performances & Events

• Pay-What-You-Choose Night: Wednesday, October 29 at 7 p.m., benefiting the Urban Affairs Coalition’s Thanksgiving Basket Program.

• Post-Show Talkbacks: Sunday, November 16 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, December 11 at 7 p.m.

• Teen Night: Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m. – $15 tickets for ages 13–18.

• Young Friends Night: Thursday, December 4 at 7 p.m. – $30 tickets for audience members 40 and under with code YFARDEN.

• Smart Caption Glasses: Available starting Tuesday, November 11 for all performances.