Trinity Rep’s production of The Mountaintop is anchored by two stellar performances from Joe Wilson Jr. as Dr. Martin Luther King and Mia Ellis as a spicy motel maid with some surprising secrets. Set in a room at the Lorraine Motel on the eve of King’s assassination, Katori Hall’s ambitious play suffers from some waffling. The King we meet is a very human man – stubborn, vain, and in need of some Odor Eaters. By the end, though, he’s suddenly invested with so much metaphysical power that he essentially grants the okay for his own assassination. The play’s first hour is great, but the heavy-handed multimedia finale is sadly off base.
The show plays twice on Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:30pm