In The Mountaintop (2009), a magical realist play, Katori Hall humanizes the mythologized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. without detracting from his legacy. King is arguably the most recognizable figure in the American Civil Rights Movement, deified for his nonviolent protest and dream of racial unity. Hall imagines how he might have faced his own mortality on the eve of his death, had he been granted the opportunity through supernatural means. This framing of King was so shocking in 2009 that no US theaters would touch the play. It opened at a 65-seat house in London and was lauded by critics before transferring to the West End, where Hall won the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2010—making her the first Black woman to receive this prize. The Mountaintop opened on Broadway in 2011, its all-star cast including Samuel L. Jackson in his Broadway debut and Angela Bassett. Hall took inspiration from her mother, Carrie Mae, when writing the play. Carrie Mae was 15 when King delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech on April 3, 1968. She wanted to listen in person, but her mother refused, certain the venue—a church—would be bombed. Hall’s mother called it “the biggest regret of her life” (“Broadway to Get a View From MLK’s ‘Mountaintop’,” All Things Considered hosted by Michele Norris. NPR, 31 Mar. 2011), as King was assassinated the next day. Hall herself explains, “I wanted to put both of them in the same room and give my mother that opportunity that she didn’t have in 1968” (“Broadway to Get a View From MLK’s ‘Mountaintop’”). In this sense, she places her audience in King’s room.

This guide uses the Dramatists Play Service edition published by in 2012.

Content Warning: The Mountaintop and this guide discuss racism (including police brutality and murder).

Plot Summary

On the stormy night of April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. enters his usual room—Room 306—in the well-worn Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. On his way to the room, King asks Ralph Abernathy, his friend and fellow activist, to get him a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes. He is exhausted from delivering his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech and working on his next sermon. He calls the front desk to order coffee, and though they’ve discontinued room service, they send coffee once they realize who is asking. King’s wife doesn’t answer when he calls, and a beautiful maid whom he hasn’t seen before arrives with a cup of coffee. They flirt with each other, and when he asks, the maid—Camae—produces a Pall Mall. She reluctantly accepts his invitation to smoke one with him. They chat about King’s mustache, the wild days of his youth, and his bad habit of cheating on his wife. They also discuss his activism methods, which Camae thinks are too peaceful to be effective, splitting her last cigarette. As the night progresses, she surprises him with her intelligence.

When King experiences a bout of anxiety, and Camae calls him Michael (his childhood name), he is certain she’s a spy. Opening the door to kick her out, he is confronted with a wall of snow. He learns she is an angel, sent to take him to heaven after he is assassinated the next night. King begs for his life, even convincing Camae to get God herself on the phone so he can plead for more time to finish the work he started—to no avail. He argues with Camae, which turns into a pillow fight and unexpected laughter, followed by him weeping and beginning to accept his fate. He feels unworthy of Camae’s labels of martyr and saint. She reveals she was a sex worker who hated herself and was murdered the previous night. She had begged God for mercy, and God tasked her with helping King cross over to earn forgiveness. He asks Camae to show him the future, and she does. She shows flashes of his metaphorical baton being passed in the 20th and 21st centuries. Finally, King sees a vision that the audience can’t, a future of love and peace—but someone needs to pick up the baton.