ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
Katori Hall’s
THE MOUNTAINTOP
Directed by Aaron Reese Boseman
Reginald Vaughn Theater, 1106 W. Thorndale, Chicago
Katori Hall’s THE MOUNTAINTOP is a fictional play that vividly reimagines the final night of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Aaron Reese Boseman (director of Invictus’s 2020 production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN) will direct the two-hander. His cast will include Mikha’el Amin (previously known as Michael Lewis, and seen at Invictus as Marc Antony in JULIUS CAESAR, Laertes in HAMLET, and Walter Lee Younger in A RAISIN IN THE SUN) as Dr. King, and Ny’ajai Ellison (Ruth Younger in Invictus’s A RAISIN IN THE SUN) as Camae, a mysterious and beautiful maid who delivers a room service order to him in room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Understudies are Brandon Boler as Dr. King; and Delysa Richards and Monique Marshaun as Camae. THE MOUNTAINTOP will be performed in the company’s Reginald Vaughn Theater at 1106 W. Thorndale Avenue, in Edgewater. I'll be out for the press opening February 20th so check back soon for my full review. Following previews from February 16-19. It will play through March 19, 2023.
Top row left-right: Mikha'el Amin, Ny'ajai Ellison.
Lower row left-right: Brandon Boler, Monique Marshaun, Delysa Richards.
In the evening after Dr. King has delivered his sermon, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” King comes into contact with Camae, who delivers his room service order and strikes King's attention immediately. The beginning interactions between the two are filled with flirtation and humor, but through the night their conversation slowly progresses to something much deeper, forming a connection and understanding between the two. The conversation focuses on the fight for civil rights and reaches the climax when Camae reveals her true intentions for walking into King's motel room that night.
THE MOUNTAINTOP premiered at Theatre503 in London in 2009, then transferred to the West End, where it won the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2010. It later opened on Broadway in October 2011 to critical acclaim in a production starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. THE MOUNTAINTOP will be produced at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from June 6 – July 9, 2023.
The production team for THE MOUNTAINTOP, in addition to Boseman as director, will include Kevin Rolfs (Set Designer), Ivy Treccani (Props Designer), Marquecia Jordan (Costume Designer/Wardrobe Supervisor), Warren Levon (Sound Designer), Michael N.J. Wright (Lighting Designer), Jay Donley (Fight/Intimacy Designer), Susan Gosdick (Dialect Coach), DJ Douglass (Projectionist), Todd Henry Faulstich (Production Manager), Donica Lynn (Assistant Director), Gabrielle Rooney (Stage Manager), and Charles Askenaizer (Artistic Director). Steve Nordmark is Box Office/Front of House Manager.
As the second play in Invictus’s season exploring the theme “Rhetoric and Groups,” Boseman is “excited to analyze the humanity and strip away the iconography of a beloved giant in an extraordinary circumstance.”
Invictus Theatre Company has, over its six-year history, built a reputation for intimate and honest interpretations of classics with fidelity to the original texts and close attention to character development. Invictus opened its 2022-23 season with JULIUS CAESAR, which Angela Allyn of CHICAGO STAGE AND SCREEN called “shattering and absolutely current.”
The company’s extraordinarily successful 2021-22 season included Askenaizer’s direction of HAMLET, which Albert Williams of the CHICAGO READER called “storefront Shakespeare at its best.” The Jeff Award recommended RUINED, directed by Ebby Offord, was described by NEW CITY’s Ted Fishman as “a treasure to hold on to.” Kathy Hey of THIRD COAST REVIEW said Askenaizer’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (also Jeff Recommended) was “raw, tragic, and unforgettable.”
Tickets for THE MOUNTAINTOP are available now at www.invictustheatreco.com. The production is partially sponsored by The Michael and Mona Heath Fund, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Saints, the Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and The MacArthur Funds for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
February 16 – March 19, 2023
Previews: February 16 – 19, 2023.
Press Opening: February 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.
Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 7:00 p.m., Sundays 3:00 p.m.
Reginald Vaughn Theater, 1106 W. Thorndale, Chicago
Ticket prices: Previews $25. Regular run: General admission $35, students (with valid student ID) and seniors $30. www.invictustheatreco.com
A gripping reimagination of events the night before the assassination of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 3, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, an exhausted Dr. King retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger arrives with some surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy to his people.
Invictus Theatre company is honored to have received 13 nominations in the 2023 Non-Equity Jeff Awards, announced on January 31.
Our Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Ruined were both nominated for outstanding production of a play, director of a play, performances by performers in principal roles of a play, performers in supporting roles of a play, and scenic design. Virginia Woolf was also nominated for Ensemble of a Play.
If you haven't yet seen Invictus Theatre Company in action, here's your chance to check out the work of this rising young company.
BIOS
Aaron Reese Boseman (Director) is a Chicago native and a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Direction and Acting. He directed Invictus’s acclaimed 2020 production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN and is a Jeff Award nominated actor, Black Excellence Award and Black Theatre Alliance Award nominated director and designer. Boseman, an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago, is also co-founder and artistic director of Pulse Theatre Chicago.
Directing credits include IN THE BLOOD, THE COLORED MUSEUM, FABULATION, OR THE RE-EDUCATION OF UNDINE, and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. THE TIGER WHO WORE WHITE GLOVES (eta Creative Arts Foundation), THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, S'KIN, THE PHILADELPHIA (Columbia College Chicago), AMERICAN SON (Ghostlight Theatre), NT. WRTH: MIXTAPE VOLUME I, Film Series, and upcoming DETROIT '67 (Columbia College Chicago-Mainstage).
Selected regional acting credits include BLUE HEAVEN (Black Ensemble Theater), BIG RIVER (TATC), SHREK THE MUSICAL (Windy City Performs), IN THE HEIGHTS (The Miracle Center, SLATE), VIOLET, BALM IN GILEAD (Griffin Theatre and Loyola University), GOLDEN BOY, DO RE MI (Porchlight Music Theatre), RENT (CCC), and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Skylight Music Theatre and Citadel Theatre).
Katori Hall (Playwright) is a Pulitzer Prize and Olivier Award-winning playwright and television creator/producer hailing from Memphis, Tennessee. A two-time Tony Award nominee, she won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, THE HOT WING KING, which she will soon direct for the first time at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in early 2023. She is currently the showrunner and Executive Producer of the Starz drama series, P-VALLEY, which she adapted from her stage play PUSSY VALLEY. The critically acclaimed and record-breaking series returned for its second season on June 3, 2022.
For Broadway, she most recently wrote and produced the hit musical, TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL, based on the life of the iconic performer, receiving two Tony Award nominations for her work as both playwright for ‘Best Book of a Musical’ and as producer in the ‘Best Musical’ category. For the musical’s acclaimed West End production, she also received an Olivier nomination for ‘Best New Musical.’
Charles Askenaizer (Artistic Director) graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Theatre and Communications. He has worked professionally in Chicago as an actor, director, and teacher for over 10 years. Recent directing credits for Invictus Theatre include JULIUS CAESAR, HAMLET, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF (Jeff Recommended), THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, and OTHELLO: THE MOOR OF VENICE. Additional credits include readings with Chicago Dramatists, 'NIGHT, MOTHER (Associate Director-Invictus Theatre), TITUS ANDRONICUS (Bare Knuckles Theater), JULIUS CAESAR (Associate Director- Brown Paper Box), TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (Reutan Collective), and THE DIFFERENCE (Reading-Piccolo Theatre). Charles has worked with Citadel Theatre, Teatro Vista, the Artistic Home, City Lit, Raven, Brown Paper Box, Chicago Dramatists, the Side Project and many more.
ABOUT INVICTUS THEATRE COMPANY
At Invictus Theatre Company, our mission is to create theater that promotes a better understanding of language: its poetry, its rhythm, its resonance; through diverse works by diverse artists. We respect the power of heightened language: spoken, written, sung; to express the breadth of the human condition. We work to harness the power of language: to promote diversity, to engender respect, to foster collaboration; and to empower our communities to share their voices.
Invictus Theatre Company incorporated in January 2017 and received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in February 2017. A diverse group of Chicago actors and directors founded Invictus with the vision to empower their communities through theatrical productions of heightened language. We are committed to the idea that our productions should reflect the communities we represent, and, to that end, we are committed to non-discriminatory hiring practices. In working with local artists, designers, and production teams, Invictus Theatre Company does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, nationality, citizenship, religion, or any other status protected by law.
