Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Continues 2023-2024 Season with The Mountaintop by Pulitzer Prize Winner Katori Hall

MILWAUKEE, WI – January 13, 2024 – Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) is proud to present Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall’s THE MOUNTAINTOP, an inspirational reimagining of the final night in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. THE MOUNTAINTOP will be onstage at the Studio Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, March 8-24, 2024. Tickets can be purchased online at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/mountaintop or by calling the box office at 414-291-7800 (M-F, 12-6 pm).

On April 3rd, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, an exhausted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger arrives with surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy. A must-see classic of the modern theater, THE MOUNTAINTOP humanizes Dr. King to suggest that we all have within us the power to be the change we wish to see in the world and explores questions of leadership, legacy, and responsibility through a stunningly theatrical experience.

“I’m thrilled to share this new, Milwaukee-made production of Katori Hall’s beloved modern masterpiece with our community,” said MCT Artistic Director Brent Hazelton. “At MCT, putting the play on the stage isn’t the end goal— the end goal is to use our storytelling tools to connect and inspire conversations in the community. I can’t wait to see how this play, through Dimonte Henning’s open-hearted theatrical sensibility, will connect to all of the conversations about leadership and responsibility to community currently taking place in Milwaukee.”

THE MOUNTAINTOP will be directed by acclaimed Milwaukee theater artist Dimonte Henning, who has been seen on the MCT stage in THE ISLAND and DEATHTRAP, among others. MCT welcomes Bryant Bentley in the role of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Milwaukee’s own N’Jameh Russell-Camara in the role of Camae. Both actors will make their MCT debuts in this production.

“I’m excited to explore the humanity, hope, and symbol of MLK in 2024 through this play,” said Russell-Camara. “We live in a time where social media is not short of people self-appointing themselves as leaders, and while we must remember that all people are human and imperfect in their beauty and power, we are called to sift through who the real transformational leaders are – those who bring out the leaders within all of us and who call us to be more, to take up space, to give space, and to inspire us to do what is right.”

In partnership with America’s Black Holocaust Museum, CopyWrite Magazine, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, and Zao MKE Church, MCT will highlight Black excellence in Milwaukee during the run of THE MOUNTAINTOP through the Mountaintop Legacy Award. At each MOUNTAINTOP performance, MCT will recognize one Milwaukee difference-maker who exemplifies the ideals of unity, equity, and locally led movements highlighted by Dr. King in his final speech, commonly referred to as “The Mountaintop Speech.”

Mountaintop Legacy Award recipients will be selected by a panel of MCT artists and community partners from nominations by the public of Black or African American leaders who best exemplify Dr. King’s ideals across sectors, including but not limited to politics, nonprofits, business, education, art, and tech.

“Art is a depiction of life, and fittingly THE MOUNTAINTOP is celebrating Black excellence on the stage while shining the spotlight on Milwaukee’s Black change agents,” said Morgan Phelps, CEO of Colorful Connections and member of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Board of Trustees. “MCT focuses many productions on elevating stories from communities of color, and this award allows us to break the fourth wall in a unique way.”

THE MOUNTAINTOP will be designed and created by Joy Ahn (Scenic Designer), KaiLee Evans* (Intimacy Director), Adam Hastings* (Technical Director and Scenic Builder), Rasean Davonté Johnson (Sound and Video Designer), Malaina Moore* (Assistant Stage Manager), Camille Toshiko Peotter (Properties Designer), Ellie Rabinowitz* (Lighting Designer), Lauren Marie Stoner* (Wardrobe), Emily Marie Wilke* (Stage Manager), and Austin Winter* (Costume Designer).

“Dr. King’s legacy lives on in so many places and people, and Milwaukee is no exception,” said Henning. “MCT’s commitment to celebrating its community goes hand-in-hand with THE MOUNTAINTOP’s inspirational central message that we each have it within us to be the change we want to see in the world. And I’m thrilled that this production and the Mountaintop Legacy Award bring both of those ideas together and allow us to celebrate some of the leaders working hard to live Dr. King’s vision in Milwaukee.”

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of THE MOUNTAINTOP is sponsored by: Executive Producers Jackie Herd-Barber and Michael Barber, Robert and Susan Lueger, and Debbie and Jamshed Patel; Producers Max and Marni Seigle; and Associate Producers Kristy Nielson and William Lorber and the We Energies Foundation.

Original Broadway production of THE MOUNTAINTOP produced by Jean Doumanian, Sonia Friedman Productions, Ambassador Theater Group, Raise the Roof 7, Ted Snowdon, Alhadeff Productions/Lauren Doll, B Square + 4 Productions/Broadway Across America, Jacki Barlia Florin/Cooper Federman, Ronnie Planalp/Moellenberg Taylor and Marla Rubin Productions/Blumenthal Performing Arts, in Association with Scott Delman.

*Denotes Wisconsin artist

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall runs March 8-24 at the Studio Theatre inside the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

• Preview – Friday, March 8 at 7:30 pm
• Opening Night – Saturday, March 9 at 8 pm
• Pay-what-you-choose – Monday, March 11 at 7:30 pm
• Talkbacks – Thursdays, March 14 and 21, following the 7:30 pm performances
• ASL Interpretation – Friday, March 15 at 7:30 pm
• SipStudio – Saturday, March 16, featuring complimentary drinks between the matinee and evening performances provided by Thelma Carol Wine Merchants
• Legacy Night – Friday, March 22 at 7:30 pm, tickets reserved for Black-identifying community members, hosted by CopyWrite Magazine. More details coming soon.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at 414-291-7800 (M-F, 12-6 pm) or online at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/mountaintop.

Throughout the run of THE MOUNTAINTOP, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre will continue raising funds for its FourOneFourward Institutional Sustainability Campaign. MCT has currently raised $1.5M in three-year gifts of their $1.8M goal.

Launched during the 22-23 season, this campaign will create a stable foundation from which MCT can reorganize its operations and build an economic structure suited to post-pandemic operations. “We’re hungry to continue MCT’s five-decade priority of strengthening Milwaukee’s professional artist community while we ensure that we can sustain that effort for another fifty seasons,” said MCT Board of Trustees President Jason Rae.

FourOneFourward Sustainability Campaign gifts can be made by visiting www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/sustainability or by calling 414.276.8842 ext. 5.

IMAGES
Promotional images and artist headshots are available to download here:  MCT THE MOUNTAINTOP Press Images

ABOUT MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE

Founded in 1975 by Montgomery Davis and Ruth Schudson, guided until 2020 by Michael Wright and Kirsten Finn, and now led by Brent Hazelton and Megwyn Sanders-Andrews, Ph.D., Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) partners with other arts organizations, community-based organizations, and universities to produce thought-provoking productions and innovative outreach programs on an intimate, human scale. As part of its five-decade commitment to strengthening Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s local artist community, MCT provides regular employment and a stable artistic home to professional artists through a five-play subscription series, the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), and the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series (MDPDS).

MCT performs at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and is a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation please visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

MCT recognizes that when we gather at the BTC, we do so on traditional homeland of the Kickapoo, Menominee, Peoria, Potawatomi, Miami, and Lakota people, and that we serve a community where members of Wisconsin’s sovereign Miami, Anishinabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.

MCT is a member of the Milwaukee Theater District. Launched in 2022, the Milwaukee Theater District represents a group of venues and civic promoters who seek to drive increased awareness of the community’s world-class performing arts and live entertainment offerings. With no formal boundaries, the Milwaukee Theater District is a collaborative marketing effort that utilizes advocacy and cooperative marketing campaigns to drive visitation, stoke local pride, and enhance the city’s reputation as a top-tier arts and cultural destination. The Milwaukee Theater District includes nine founding venues, four founding performing arts organizations, and three founding support groups, representing a wide array of programming and venue experiences. With 15,000 theater seats across founding venues, the Milwaukee Theater District ranks No. 1 in the United States for the highest number of theater seats per capita. Learn more at mketheaterdistrict.com.

MCT welcomes people of all races, all religions, all genders, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, and all abilities. We stand with all those who feel unheard or silenced, and we will ensure this is a safe place for all who enter.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.