Play Reading Circle “The Mountaintop”
Katori Hall is a screenwriter and multi-award winning playwright, including being a recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award. From Memphis, she workshopped The Mountaintop – the work which SFBC’s Play Reading Circle will be reading in January and February – while at Juilliard. This play opened on Broadway in 2011, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. It is an imagining of what was going through the mind of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the night of April 3, 1968 – in his private room on the second floor of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis – the night before he was assassinated.
You may remember that King, addressing the Memphis sanitation workers in support of their strike, had just delivered the speech in which he famously concluded: “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I’m so happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”
And yet, there was much to fear, much to worry about. White supremacists were after him. The FBI was after him. Many of his followers were becoming discouraged about the slow pace of non-violent resistance. Poverty was crushing far too many. The Vietnam War was troubling him. Alone with his thoughts, he retired for the night. And Katori Hall takes it from there.
Join us on January 3 and February 7 to read this provocative play. No theatrical experience necessary, and everyone welcome! We meet on Zoom from 3:00-5:00pm (Zoom link below and on the church calendar). Scripts are available for sign-out at the Welcome Table in Fellowship Hall. If you need to pick one up during the week, call the church office (206-325-6051) to ensure someone will be available to help you.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85424372570
