A Play About Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Is On Stage In West Chester

WEST CHESTER, PA —Imagine going back to the night before civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of his Lorraine Motel room in Memphis, Tenn.

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center will take you there with its production of “The Mountaintop,” a play celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy.

The play runs today through Sunday, Feb. 19.

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now,” King said in his famous "Mountaintop" speech in support of striking sanitation workers who went on strike after two workers were crushed by a truck.

“We’ve got some difficult times ahead. But it doesn’t matter to 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 with that . . . . Mine eyes have seen the coming of the Lord.”

For 90 minutes, with no intermission, you will be immersed in a fictional version of King’s last night on earth, April 3, 1968.

“The Mountaintop,'' written by Katori Hall, an award-winning playwright and television producer, provides the audience with snippets of comedy relief intertwined with the sadness of racial discrimination.

As some patrons entered the theatre, ushers warned the play has a powerful meaning.

King returns to his motel where he is greeted by a woman who appears to be a maid but is something else, an angel sent by God to bring King to heaven.

The angel and King smoke Pall Mall cigarettes together. They chide each other about everyday living.

Carmen Khan, the theater’s new artistic director, greets the guests, who are also treated to refreshments before and after the show.

Khan grew up in London and has extensive experience working in theater.

She said the play “is one of the most gripping and powerful plays I have ever experienced.”

The director, Ryan George, said the play shows King as a man who is a beacon of hope for our light for civil rights, but also a man with flaws and doubts.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is played by Chaz Rose, who played the role in a production at The Hippodrome Theatre, in Florida.

Rose graduated from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and performed off-Broadway in “Black Angels Over Tuskegee” and “She Like Girls”

Camae is played by Brianna Miller. Miller graduated from Earlham College. Ind. She was part of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s touring company and resident ensemble.

JBD Musicworks is part of the creative team and features John Lilley from The Hooters, Brett Edmonson, a professional bassist and composer, and Daniel Gallery.

Tickets are on sale, starting at $35 with discounts and savings available for school groups, families, seniors, students, and the military.

Discounts are also available for groups of ten or more. All performances are on the Roy A. Smith Mainstage at Uptown, at 226 N. High Street. Tickets are available here.