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Showing posts with label The Mountaintop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Mountaintop. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

THE MOUNTAINTOP Via Invictus Theatre Company February 16-19 Through March 19, 2023

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.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

ACT OUT OPENING: The Mountaintop at Court Theatre

COURT THEATRE PRESENTS
THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF KATORI HALL’S
THE MOUNTAINTOP
DIRECTED BY RESIDENT ARTIST RON OJ PARSON


Court Theatre Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert present The Mountaintop written by Katori Hall, and directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. The Mountaintop will run September 5 – October 6, 2013 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. 



On the eve of his assassination, a weary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. returns to his lonely hotel room in Memphis. Restless, he begins to work on his next speech when he’s suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a young hotel maid named Camae. The two strike up an unlikely conversation and as the hour grows late and Dr. King’s fate presses closer, Camae reveals that she is more than she appears. The Mountaintop offers a beautiful and powerful meditation on mortality, destiny, and the liminal space where the material meets the divine. Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson will direct this new portrayal of Dr. King.

“The Mountaintop is one of the most extraordinary plays I've had the pleasure of encountering in recent years, and as soon as I first read it I knew instantly that it should open Court Theatre's fifty-ninth season. Court's intimate space is perfectly suited to the quiet power of Katori Hall's play, and under the incisive direction of Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson, this Mountaintop has the potential to really sing as it would nowhere else,” says Artistic Director Charles Newell. “Not only am I proud to present the Chicago premiere of The Mountaintop, I'm grateful and truly moved that Court Theatre has the opportunity to explore, through the art form of drama, the life and legacy of such a crucial figure of our time.”

Previews are September 5 – September 13, 2013.  Curtain times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $35 to $45 for preview performances; $45 to $65 for regular run performances. Tickets are available at the Box Office, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or online at www.CourtTheatre.org. Student and senior discounts available. Groups of 10 or more may purchase discounted tickets by calling Kate Vangeloff at 773-834-3243.

The Mountaintop is sponsored by Allstate, and Ron OJ Parson’s artistic residency is made possible by a grant from The Joyce Foundation.

The cast of The Mountaintop is David Alan Anderson (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and Lisa Beasley (Camae).

The creative team includes Scott Davis (scenic design), Melissa Torchia (costume design), Sarah Hughey (lighting design), Victoria Delorio (sound design), Martine Kei Green-Rogers (dramaturgy). William Collins is the Stage Manager. 

David Alan Anderson (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) is making Court Theatre debut with The Mountaintop.  He is a 2013 recipient of the prestigious Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, sponsored by the Ten Chimneys Foundation (tenchimneys.org).  A resident of Indianapolis, he is a frequent performer with the Indiana Repertory Theatre, where his many credits include The Whipping Man, Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, Romeo and Juliet, The Heavens are Hung in Black, A Christmas Carol, the title role in Julius Caesar,  and the one man show Looking Over the President's Shoulder.  He is a company member with the critically acclaimed Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, MN, where his credits include King Hedley II, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running, and Jitney.  Regional credits include Troy in Fences at Denver Center, Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun at The Guthrie, Penumbra, Cleveland Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Co., and Kansas City Rep, Othello at Great Lakes Theatre and Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Kent in King Lear and Othello at Pennsylvania Shakespeare, and Sebastian in The Tempest at Actors Theatre of Louisville.  Other credits include Geva Theatre, Syracuse Stage Lake Tahoe Shakes, St. Louis Black Rep., and Peoples Light and Theatre.  Directing credits include Most Valuable Player and The Color of Justice at Indiana Rep, and Topdog/Underdog and Two Trains Running at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis.  He also works in film and television and does voiceover work.

Lisa Beasley (Camae) is making her Court Theatre debut with The Mountaintop. Her recent credits include eta Creative Arts Foundation - Field of Souls (Ruby) and Flow (Will Power); Black Ensemble Theatre - The Marvin Gaye Story (Ensemble), One Name Only (Tanika), The Other Cinderella (Margarite), and From Doo Wop to Hip Hop (Nina), and a company member with Black Ensemble Plays With A Purpose and The High School Series. Originally from Gary, IN, Lisa is a graduate of The LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, TN with a B.A. in Classical Jazz Studies and also attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy of Los Angeles.

Now in its 59th season, Court Theatre is guided by its mission to discover the power of classic theatre. Court endeavors to make a lasting contribution to American theatre by expanding the canon of translations, adaptations, and classic texts. Court revives lost masterpieces, illuminates familiar texts, and distinguishes fresh, modern classics. Court engages and inspires its audience by providing artistically distinguished productions, audience enrichment activities, and student educational experiences.

Court Theatre is the professional theatre in residence at the University of Chicago continuing to discover the power of classic theatre. Court Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Productions are made possible in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and by a City Arts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Court Theatre is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the American Theatre; the League of Resident Theatres; the Illinois Humanities Council; the Arts Alliance Illinois; the League of Chicago Theatres; and Hyde Park Cultural Alliance.

Title:                The Mountaintop
Written by:        Katori Hall
Directed by:      Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson
Dates:                Previews:        September 5 – September 13, 2013
                        p.m.      
Regular run:     September 15 – October 6, 2013
Schedule:         Wed & Thurs: 7:30 PM
Fridays:           8:00 PM
Saturdays:       3:00 PM & 8:00 PM 
Sundays: 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Location:          Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
Tickets:            $35-$45 previews
                        $45-$65 regular run
Box Office:       Located at 5535 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago; (773) 753-4472 or www.CourtTheatre.org


Notes of Interest:
  • Hall’s The Mountaintop won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. Notable international productions include the critically-acclaimed James Dacre-directed London production at Theatre 503 and Trafalgar Studios, and the subsequent 2012 Broadway production starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L Jackson.  

  • Saturday, August 28 marks the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic “March on Washington.”  In commemoration of the event, the DuSable Museum will be reenacting the March, to include a portion of Dr. King’s seminal “I Have a Dream” speech read by David Alan Anderson who portrays Dr. King in Court Theatre’s production of The Mountaintop

  • Hall’s plays include Hoodoo Love, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City; Remembrance, which won the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn Award; Saturday Night/Sunday Morning; WHADDABLOODCLOT!!!!; and Pussy Valley.  She has also been published as a book reviewer, journalist, and essayist in publications such as The Boston Globe, Essence, Newsweek and The New York Times. She was a Kennedy Center Playwriting Fellow at the O’Neill.


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