The Mountaintop

Early in The Mountaintop, the audience hears Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. relieve himself in a motel bathroom—a mundane but nevertheless disarming depiction of a historical figure. From here, the play challenges King’s sanitized image as a martyr and saint, using his physical and emotional needs to reinforce his humanity. The 1960s was a decade of assassinations, many of which were related to Black civil rights: King outlived civil rights leader Medgar Evars (1963), President John F. Kennedy (1963), and fellow activist Malcolm X (1965), and likely knew he might be next. In the play, his daughter Berniece (Bunny) predicted his death and prayed on his behalf. While Bunny’s prediction, Camae’s angelic reveal, and God’s existence create a supernatural tone, the play actively reinforces King’s humanity and inability to stop death. The sanctification of his life’s work may be done out of respect, but makes him and his activism read as daunting to the average person, impossible even. Thus, the play questions not only what made King human, but what makes all people human—and thus equally capable of enacting change.

Overall, Katori Hall’s fictionalized King is arrogant and susceptible to temptation.