Review: THE MOUNTAINTOP at Theatre Tallahassee

Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel became an infamous site as of the evening hours of April 4, 1968. In the play The Mountaintop by playwright Katori Hall, audiences are led into Room 306, during the late hours of April 3. This play, first developed by Hall in 2007, is a fictional reimagining of Dr. King’s final night, after delivering his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. With the help of a character named Camae, a mysterious and spunky hotel maid, Hall has Dr. King take stock of his work up until that moment. Through a conversation with muti-faceted character of Camae, Dr. King is presented as equally paradoxical. He confronts mortality and the idea of what type of legacy he wants to leave behind. Through acting, directing, set design, lighting and sound, this play, directed by Dee Selmore, is delivered with a deep sense of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This production of “The Mountaintop" runs at The Studio at Theatre Tallahassee until March 15.

This two-person play was brought to life by Q Parker Jr., who portrays Martin Luther King Jr, and with Ryan Toussaint occupying the role of Camae at this performance, as understudy for Shiane Sullivan. Their stage presence and performances captured audiences and filled the intimate theatre space with just as much life as a play with an ensemble cast. Q Parker Jr’s performance is expressive and intentional in adding to Dr. King’s emotional depth. He is skilled in using his voice and projection to capture audiences. His eerily accurate physicality and his facial features, especially his eyes communicate sensibility. I noticed an almost-imperceptible slip-up in one line in Parker’s performance but his “show must go on”-attitude helped him carry on. Even though the character Hall created from the real man is flawed, audiences accept his multi-faceted nature thanks to Q Parker Jr. He also succeeds in demonstrating progression. He starts off as hopeful and fearful, as demonstrated by his reactions to weather, and filled with urgency to change everything in the world now. He then becomes a slightly angry and doubtful man. At the end, he accepts what is done and what is to come - what he knows and what he doesn’t.

Ryan Tussaint is dynamic in her performance of Camae. At the beginning of the performance, she had an issue with vocal projection but she improved quickly as the play went on. Toussaint makes her performance seem effortless and manages to make her character’s story a surprise for audiences. She is effective in being wit and sharp in her role. At the beginning of the play, her fittingly-exaggerated facial expressions are used for forward character development. Her performance evokes a sharp bitterness, as demonstrated by her comebacks and in her speech monologue impersonating Dr. King. Then, she slowly settles into her identity to provide comfort to Dr. King. She becomes more serious and less facially expressive, instead using subtly softer vocal tones and accent and less exaggerated movements, to powerfully demonstrate this evolution. 

Director Dee Selmore, proves successful in unifying the themes of the play to the performances. The use of a video except of Dr. Martin Luther Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” projected onto the set immediately transports audiences into the time period of the play. Though the play starts off at a slower pace, through the well-cast actors and technical elements, the play picks up to a steady pace. The actors were evidently aided in vocal performance in a way that added to the play. The stage blocking also helped fill the space without cramming it. It helped the actors interact on stage. Technically, the sound design, especially the low hum of falling rain, helped ground the play. The use of restroom sounds added to the humanity the play conveys. The last sound of play, contrasted to total silence in this production, drives home the lasting importance of the play’s subject matter. The set, which is startlingly similar to the real-life space, helps fully embed audiences into Room 306 and what transpires there. Barely any scenes took place in the restroom sink space but audience members seated on the left would have had a hard time seeing it. The technical choice to display images of cultural moments not mentioned in Camae’s monologue but relevant to the play’s context is refreshing and poignant.