During my teen years, Dr. Martin Luther King was admired for his non-violent resistance to the impossibly unjust treatment of Blacks in our country. But, like all mankind, he struggled with his own imperfections until his assassination April 4, 1968. Then, miraculously the imperfect husband and father disappeared as he became the courageous martyr who laid down his life so that others might be free.<\/p>\n
Oakland Theater Project, however, brings King\u2019s humanity with all its foibles back in Katori Hall\u2019s powerful two-person play \u201cThe Mountaintop.\u201d The playwright reimagines the night before King\u2019s death as she reveals the often-fragile man beneath the icon.<\/p>\n
King has just delivered one of his famous sermons and has retired to his motel room in Memphis. When the appealing maid brings his coffee order to his room, he asks her to stay for a while, and so begins Hall\u2019s electrifying version of King\u2019s final night.<\/p>\n
Co-directors James Mercer II and Michael Socrates Moran create a physical environment that engages audience members from the moment they enter the theater. With music of the period softly filling the intimate space and projections of King as well as newsreels from the \u201960s enveloping the back wall, the audience finds itself transported back to that turbulent time. A time that, unfortunately, has much in common with today\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n
Sam Fehr\u2019s provocative set features a motel room surrounding a sunken feather bed with an oversized grave marker stating birth and death dates for King at the top. At the bottom of the bed are King\u2019s shoes and briefcase.<\/p>\n
Mercer and Moran choose two consummate actors in William Thomas Hodgson (King) and Sam Jackson (the maid Camae).<\/p>\n
Hodgson begins the action by walking on the stage with only socks on his feet and, literally, steps into King\u2019s shoes. When Jackson enters, the two charismatic performers begin an intimate dance that lasts late into the night.<\/p>\n
Hodgson and Jackson make their characters so real and easy to relate to that Hall\u2019s transition into a more surreal atmosphere at the end feels jarring. But maybe that\u2019s what the playwright wants. After all, King\u2019s death and the many heartbreaks of the civil rights movement were jarring to say the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mountaintop\u201d runs 90 minutes with no intermission through Sunday at FLAX art & design on 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland. For tickets, call 510-646-1126 or go to oaklandtheaterproject.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pt. Richmond: Here\u2019s a clever angle for a story for you. A group of scribes with writer\u2019s block meet regularly to support each other and, surprise, the stories they\u2019ve been working on \u2013 a 1930s detective thriller, a Victorian romance, a sci-fi story \u2013 come to life in the second half of the show.<\/p>\n If this sounds familiar, you\u2019ve probably already seen Alan Ayckbourn\u2019s \u201cImprobable Fiction.\u201d If you haven\u2019t, now\u2019s your chance as Masquers Playhouse produces the crazy comedy through March 1.<\/p>\n Ayckbourn got his inspiration from a talk he gave to a writing group that seemed more interested in socializing than writing. Although written in 2005, the themes of exploring creativity and the gap between aspiration and reality hold true to this day.<\/p>\n Angela Mason directs the fun with C. Conrad Cady, Anna Kosiarek, Lori Mrochinski, Tyler Null, Simon Patton and Alicia von Kugelgen playing the fledgling writers.<\/p>\n According to von Kugelgen, the play is \u201ca bit of the reality of being a writer, a bit absurdist and very British.\u201d<\/p>\n The delightful Hotel Mac, located across the street from the theater, offers specially prepared dinners at a discount following Sunday matinees. Reservations are required (510-374-6511), and you must show your show program when you arrive at Hotel Mac on 10 Cottage Ave. in Pt. Richmond.<\/p>\n For tickets to \u201cImprobable Fiction\u201d at Masquers Playhouse is located on 105 Park Place in Pt. Richmond, call 510-232-3888 or go to masquers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Castro Valley: If you prefer a heartwarming comedy that illustrates the power of community when one of life\u2019s unexpected challenges arises, try Chanticleers\u2019 \u201cThe Savannah Sipping Society.\u201d<\/p>\n The very funny, yet poignant story follows four Southern women as they navigate mid-life crises and find strength in their newfound bond \u2013 not to mention, their weekly cocktail hours.<\/p>\n The show runs Feb. 20 through March 8 at 3683 Quail Ave. in Castro Valley. For tickets, call 510-733-5483 or go to https:\/\/onthestage.tickets\/.<\/p>\n S.F.: The renowned American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) presents \u201cParanormal Activity,\u201d an original story based on Paramount Pictures\u2019 terrifying film franchise, Feb. 19 thorugh March 15 at its Toni Rembe Theater on 415 Geary St. in San Francisco.<\/p>\n Written by Levi Holloway and Felix Barrett, the story follows James and Lou, who move from Chicago to London to escape their past. They soon learn, however, that places aren\u2019t haunted, people are.<\/p>\n The show features Cher \u00c1lvarez (Lou), Travis A. Knight (James), Shannon Cochran (James\u2019 mother) and Katy Fry (Etheline Cotgrave, a medium). Felix Barrett directs.<\/p>\n For tickets, call 415-749-2228 or go to act-sf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com<\/a>, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com\/author\/sally-hogarty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During my teen years, Dr. Martin Luther King was admired for his non-violent resistance to the impossibly unjust…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2245,81722,19490,2248,2241,1472,2246,2242,967,81720,41342,81719,81717,2240,143,145,144,2562,2244,2239,2247,2243,81716,81721,1058,81723,81718],"class_list":["post-170378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-acting","tag-american-conservatory-theater","tag-chanticleers","tag-choreography","tag-comedy","tag-dance","tag-directing","tag-drama","tag-entertainment","tag-hotel-mac","tag-james-mercer-ii","tag-masquers-playhouse","tag-michael-socrates-moran","tag-musicals","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-theater-project","tag-on-stage","tag-performing-arts","tag-screenwriting","tag-singing","tag-the-mountaintop","tag-the-savannah-sipping-society","tag-theater","tag-toni-rembe-theater","tag-william-thomas-hodgson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}