The Mountaintop
by Katori Hall
The Utah Shakespeare Festival 2024
Director: Cameron Knight
Scenic Designer: Jo Winiarski
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Lieder
Lighting Designer: Tom Mays
Sound Designer: ien DeNio
Projections Designer: Joe Payne
Associate Projections Designer: Sophie Smrcka
“Set on the last night of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, The Mountaintop transports us to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where King confronts his legacy and mortality. As he prepares his speech for the following day, he orders a cup of coffee, and the hotel maid who arrives turns out to be more than he ever expected. Although fictional, the play propels us to better understand the human being behind the icon of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Little expressions of the supernatural and plenty of social commentary. Lightning flashed images of the KKK, the hotel room was filled with shadows of demons, flowers grew at MLK’s feet, the room turned to ice, and demons stretch through the door. I even got to shake the room a la Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The show of course ends in historical commentary. What have we done since MLK’s death? Huge strides forward and huge strides back. Forever in struggle. Can we fix it? Beautiful show with beautiful people. The rig was 6 Epson 14,000 lumen laser projectors, one for the cyc, one for the hotel room wall, two for the floor- from either side to minimize shadows, and two for the finale where we plastered entire theatre space with historical photos. Playback was a new and exciting experience. I used Pixera for the first time. I was impressed by the capabilities.
Joe Payne’s projection work is instrumental to this play and Knight’s vision; they enhance the supernatural elements of the narrative, particularly during Camae’s revelations. – Rhetorical Review, Keolanani Kinghorn Article Link
Joe Payne’s projections ground historical references and amplify the mystical moments. – Front Row Reviewers, Alayna Een Article Link
Two of the most powerful sequences come in the play’s final moments. Dr. King begs to see a vision of the future, and a powerful spoken word poem that starts with Shakira on stage and becomes an immersive part of the audiovisual topography. Projection and Sound designers Joe Payne and Ien Denio wove a masterful and thought provoking vision of Black narratives and cultural events from 1963 to 2024 together in a way that disrupts the audience from disengaging. – Utah Theatre Bloggers, Scott Savage Article Link
Photos by Karl Hugh. Abdul-Khaliq Murtadha as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Alia Shakira as Camae