Uncredited

The play, which earned its author the Olivier Award in London, aims to put King's legacy in perspective for anyone who takes the struggles and accomplishments of various human rights movements for granted. It's an admirable goal, but one suspects that at least some Olivier voters were more enamored of Hall's spirit than her execution...The play ends on a lofty note, providing both Jackson and Bassett ambitious, lyrical monologues. Still, the actors, and certainly the subject, deserve a higher plane than The Moutaintop provides.

You may also feel like you’ve wandered into a lavish theme bar mitzvah planned by an overenthusiastic mom.

The dazzling sound and lighting turn a simple stage into a pro-football field, and Judith Light cuts through a loud, cold men’s world with her warm brilliance.

While today’s lack of historical sensitivity is part of the point here, the dim background illumination of Native Americans at the end is a wan homage to the multitudes killed. This production suggests that it might be best not to think too hard about such things; better to have a blast and revel in the glory of the coolest guy at the party.

Ultimately, Rice finds too much of herself and too little of Coward. She deploys his plot and his songs, but her ironic flashiness illustrates rather than penetrates the punishing emotions of the film.

What do you get when you combine three world-weary intellectuals and an ingénue? Fish in a barrel—and an opportunity to make facile points about youth, lightness, and cheer. Ricci manages her comic duties ably, but the evening’s real virtue is still in watching Linney rise above the limitations of Margulies’s script.